Darker Still
by River Sahia-Tari
Summary: JxK After the long anticipated wait...here it is! The beginning of Jak3
1. Foreign City

**A/N:** Weeeeee! my first Jak and Daxter fanfic. Totally Jak/Kiera....I don't see why there aren't a multitude of those fics out there, I love J/K fics! but yeah, before anyone asks: my pen-name has NO relation what-so-ever to the Ashelin in Jak23. Okay.

**Summary:** Set after **Jak and Daxter**, taking the place of **Jak 2** and **Jak 3**. Mostly following Keira's life, of course I'll write some check-ups on Jak, after arriving to Haven City until she meets up with Jak and Daxter two years later.

**Pairings:** Jak/Keira(hell yeah!), Torn/Ashelin, Daxter/Tess

_**-----**_

**Darker Still**

by Ashelin Rayne (Remember! No relation to Ashelin in the games!)

**Prologue**

_Foreign City_

Jak's head was throbbing with pain, the last thing he remembered was going through a 'tunnel' of blue light after hitting the gas on the rift-rider Keira had built and then getting hit with something. He was seperated from Samos and the girl, he sighed, at least he still had Daxter until he found the other two. Acknowledging that Daxter was already up, saying something as he stood, he grinned when he saw that his friend still had a death grip on the handle bar that had broken off from the rider. Jak's eyes widened as he took in his surroundings, they were definately **_not_** in Sandover Villiage anymore. The two boys were surrounded by huge building made of metal and there were vehicles flying around everywhere.

Daxter crawled up onto the elf's shoulder and said something but Jak wasn't listening, the elf was busy looking around the alien city. Something stirred deep in his memory, something he had forgotten long ago. Jak felt a sense of familiarity to this odd, metal jungle he was standing in but couldn't place where he knew the city from. He was broken from his thoughts when Dax alerted him to the men in bulky red armor that were coming towards them.

There were at least five of them, headed by a shorter, scrawnier man dressed in a white, black, and yellow, skin tight suit. His face was tattooed with blue markings and on top of his head was a sort of metal helmet. Despite his position, Jak let out a soft snort of amusement at the oddly dressed man who couldn't be more than five years older than himself, which was seventeen. The strange man ,just shot him a withering glare, which suddenly turned into a sadistic smirk.

"Forget the rat, the Baron wants him," he said before knocking him out.

Jak could faintly hear Daxter calling out to him before all went black.

**-----**

Keira groaned.

'_Did anyone catch the herd of Yakkow that just trampled me?'_ She thought as her head began pounding loudly and painfully. _'What happened?'_ She gasped as her memories returned and began looking around frantically.

"Daddy? Daxter?" She called out, "....Jak?" Keira was slumped on the ground against a cold, metal building, she could see a bridge to the left of the deserted alley she was currently in. Careful of any possible injuries, Keira slowly stood, leaning on the building next to her for support. The mechanic in her was in complete and utter awe as Keira observed all the alien technology around her and she was itching to examine all the different kinds of zoomers flying around. After a few minutes of walking around the strange and foreign city, she decided that she was perfectly okay, besides being completely alone in a unknown city. Keira tried not to think negatively and headed off to find her father, Jak, and Daxter.

_-_

Keira was near tears now.

The girl had been wandering all over the city for the whole day and it was beginning to get dark. What was worse was that she had ended up in what was probably the more shadier parts of the city. Keira had managed to get past the guards in bulky red armor she head the people around her call 'Krimzon Guards' at certain checkpoint gates. Now she didn't know what to do, she was shelterless and moneyless and the light of day was quickly fading, how she wished her father or Jak....or even _Daxter_ was here with her. Keira had never been so frightened in her life, she was only fifteen! How could a teenage girl possibly survive on her own!?

Hot tears streaked down her cheeks, blurring Keira's vision. The girl watched as shady looking men cast their leering, lustful gazes at her. Keira wasn't blind, she knew she was attractive and she wasn't oblivious to the stares she had been getting from the males all day. And now that the sun was going down, she was paifully aware of one of the men that had begun to stalk her, keeping a few feet away from her.

More tears poured from her eyes. Keira had to find a safe place to hide away for the night, so she could rest -if only- for a while. But first things first, she had to lose the man following her. Rubbing the tears from her eyes, Keira took a deep breath and began to increase her pace, she took note of how the footsteps following hers began to speed up to match her own pace. After passing a large group of slightly drunk party goers, Keira broke into a run.

Her heart pounded loudly in her ears and she could barely make out the sounds of the man's footsteps thundering after her. Keira realized in utter horror that the further she ran, there seemed to be less and less people around. She screeched when a muscled arm grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into a short, dead ended alley, slamming her up agianst the wall. Keira began to scream but was quickly silenced when her head whipped to the side, a painful throbbing from where the man had backhanded her.

"Shut the fuck up, wench!" He snarled, his cold brown eyes filled with lust and breath reeking of alcohol. The man pressed up against her forcefully and began to nip at her neck, licking at the spots where he had nipped too hard and began to bleed. Tears were streaming down Keira's face as her mind went blank. She couldn't believe this was happening to her and she was terrified beyond belief. The man was now squeezing her breasts painfully as he struggled to undo the buckle of her belt.

_'Jak....'_ she thought sadly, _'somebody...help me!'_ For a moment, Keira felt like giving up, felt like dying right there and then, but something in the back of her mind broke free of the terrified state she was in and began to think. _'I can't give up! I have to fight! For Daddy!....For Jak....Jak...What would Jak do?'_ The had that was at her side brushed against a metal object hanging from her belt. Her brain registered what it was in a second. Her wrench. Without a second thought, Keira grabbed the tool and smashed it upon the side of the man's head, just as he began to tug at her pants. He recoiled in shock and she took his moment of distraction to unleash her blinding rage upon him. She smashed the wrench down on his head several times before kicking him as he fell to the ground. Keira sobbed everytime she kicked, she hadn't stopped until several minutes later when she noticed -to her horror- that the man had stopped moving. Stopped breathing.

Backing away from the motionless body, Keira hit the wall and slumped to the ground, her eyes wide with shock and fixated on the figure on the ground. That was how she stayed for most of the night, in shock and sitting a couple feet away from a cold and lifeless body.

_'I did what I had to do. I did what I had to do. It wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault.'_ The two phrases were repeating over and over in Keira's head. She suddenly shot up and ran, she didn't know where she was going but she ran. The girl stopped when she reached a ramp going down into a large, man-made lake in the center of this city section. She walked down to the edge of the water and looked at her reflection illuminated by the light coming from a large statue of a hog in front of a bar called Hip Hog Heaven. Keira noticed she still had the wrench in hand, one end covered in blood and she screamed as she threw it into the water. Immediately, she began splashing water upon her self and rubbing furiously, trying to rid herself of the dirty feeling. She sobbed loudly and slumped back onto the ramp, wishing she was back in Sandover Village, getting into trouble with Jak and Daxter or with her father.

Keira stayed on the ramp until the sun began to rise in the sky, thoughts racing through her mind. She had to be strong. She had to survive so she could find the others. She couldn't think about what happened last night, not now. Keira slowly willed herself to stand, she needed to find a place to stay and to get a place to saty, she needed a job.

The statue of the hog loomed over her and with a deep breath, Keira entered the shady looking bar. As soon as she stepped foot into the building, a horrendously fat man floating on what seemed to be a flying doughnut zoomed up to her. She had to hold back a gag as she looked at the mounds of fat piled upon the ugly thing, she noted in disgust that his tiny legs were dangling below the flying doughnut, the circulation probably cut off by the huge amounts of fat crushing the blood vessels flowing to the limp limbs. Keira could feel the bile rising up as he came in close to her face, unfortunately smelling his stench, and began to speak.

"Who the hell are you!?" He snarled. Keira flinched but held her head high.

"I'm looking for a job," her voice was suprisingly calm as she faced the mountain of blubber.

"A job, aye? You're too young," he snapped, "get out!" The girl didn't budge, she was desperate but still kept her calm face.

"Please! I need a job!" Keira would've picked a better place to look for a job but knew that any other place wouldn't take her because she was only fifteen, and out of all the shady places that would probably omit her age, the Hip Hog Heaven was the least shady looking.

"Didn't you hear me the first time?!" He raised an eyebrow, "I said you're too young!"

"I'm not leaving until I get a job!"

The fat blob of an elf arched his eyebrow even higher.

"Ahh...a fiesty one, I see," he rubbed one of his many chins, "you're very persistent, I like that in a woman..." The man chuckled but Keira forced herself to keep still and keep calm, even if she wanted to throw up. "What experiences do you have?"

"I can do anything you ask me to do, just please, give me a job," she begged quietly. The flying fat man looked thoughtful for a while.

"Alright, I'll start you off simple," he smirked, "you will clean, serve as a waitress, and provide entertainment for my customers."

"Entertainment?" Keira gulped nervously, her calm facade faltering for a moment.

"Yes, dancing or whatever else my customer wants. Take it or leave it."

"I'll take it." Keira sighed, hoping to find the others soon.

**-----**

Jak groggily opened up a sapphire blue eye, he gasped when he found himself strapped to a cold metal table.

"Ahh....I see you are awake," a voice sounded from his left. Jak turned to face a big man dressed in red armor, he noted that the left half of his head was mechanical as was most of the left side of his body. The large man had a bushy mustache and cold eyes.

"Baron Praxis," a second voice rang out, this one more familiar to the boy on the table. It was the man who had knocked him out. "We are ready to begin the expirement."

"Good, Erol," the large man nodded, "proceed." Jak yelped as he was injected with a substance he was all too familiar with. Dark eco. The pain began to increase as they injected more and he screamed as the dark eco invaded his very being, a feeling worse than any beating he could be given by a thousand Lurkers. He felt it seep into his mind and dark thoughts clouded his head. Jak could feel himself beginning to fade into darkness and he whispered a name, using his voice for the first time, before he slipped into unconsciousness.

"Keira...."

**-----**

**A/N:** Yay! I'm done! I hoped you liked it and please don't flame me just because you don't like Keira... TT .....Please review because those are always nice.

-Ash


	2. Life As She Knows It

**A/N:** Whoo boy, poor Keira, you guys are gonna learn some disturbing facts about what happens to her. It's so sad....but she's a tough girl now. She can deal. WEEEEE!!!!! Keira uses a gun in this chap! Not really all that exciting though.....

**Summary:** Keira is working at Krew's Hip Hog Heaven to survive living in Haven City.

**Pairings:** JxK, TxA, DxT

**- - - - - -**

**Darker Still**

by Ashelin Rayne

**Chapter One**

_Life As She Knows It_

**-**

It had already been a month before Keira knew it, her waitressing days at Hip Hog Heaven had flown by so fast. For the first few weeks all she had to do was clean and take orders from customers under the scrutinizing gaze of Krew, the amazing blimp-of-a-man. The mound of fat had allowed her to stay in a tiny back room with only enough space to fit a just-barely-large-enough cot and a tiny nightstand placed at the head of the bed in between the cot and the wall. There was a space, about two feet by five feet, which she used to change her clothes at. Krew had so 'genrously' provided her with a waitressing uniform and Keira had bought another set of clothes with her first weeks pay.

She glared distastefully at her 'uniform,' but as much as she hated wearing it, it did come in handy when she talked men into buying her food. Keira sighed as she went to put it on, her almost-all-day shift starting in ten minutes. The girl slipped the skin tight, white tube top that was barely large enough to cover all of her chest over her head. Grabbing another clothing item off of her night stand, she threw on a small, black vest with navy blue lining; the bottom of the vest ended a few inches below her breasts and there were two, midnight blue buckles on each side. Her skirt, Keira had to admit, wasn't as bad as it could've been. It came down just an inch above her finger tips, although on both sides there was a slit half way up the skirt. It was black with navy blue lining and beautiful, intricate designs stitched with dark green and navy blue threads that matched her hair. Keira wore black, fishnet stockings and knee-high, black -lined with navy blue and dark green- combat boots she bought. She couldn't exactly run around the city with her old, open-toed foot wear, although she still kept it under her cot.Keira also kept her mechanics goggles around her neck, they hung below a black choker with a deep sapphire jewel hanging from it. She had her old belt on, with the suspenders that went over her shoulders. On her arms, she had gauntlets and bindings similiar to her old ones except the cloth bindings were a navy blue and the gauntlets were black with fingerless gloves attached.

There was a bang on her door and she heard Krew yelling at her about customers coming in. With a heavy sigh, Keira dragged herself out of her room and slipped a mask of indifference on. She reminded herself, without being too obvious, to always stay out of what she called the male customers' 'Groping Zone,' the girl had lost count of all the times men had flet her up or smacked her ass at around fifty.

The day dragged on and Keira was talking orders left and right, it was Saturday and the Hip Hog Heaven was filled with the sleeziest and most perverted men in Haven City, or at least thats what it seemed like to her. She winced as yet another customer smacked her ass, she snorted and continued her work. Halfway through the night, a group of men asked Krew if she could dance for them which he hastily nodded then shot Keira a look that clearly said 'You-better-get-your-ass-on-that-bar-and-start-dancing,' just a song came on. She couldn't say no, right now, whether she liked it or not, Krew was her only chance of surviving in the god-forsaken hell hole of a city.

**_If you want to know how  
To fly high, then go now  
To the place where all the concubines... _**

Meet and converse with them  
Marvel at their pale skin  
Wonder how they chew on their pointy...

Teeth and hair are beauty  
They know it's their duty  
To be countess in their hearts and their...

Minds that have to whisper  
See in them a sister  
Look into their eyes and you'll become...

Keira let her mind get swept up in the dark, gothic melody of the stringed instruments and heavy metal beat as her body began to move sensually. This was only the third time she had been asked to dance and she still felt wrong...dirty...doing it, but she figured out that if she didn't think about it, she could ignore the heated looks all the men were giving. She whimpered inwardly, she hoped her Daddy never lerned of all the things she was doing. She hoped Jak never found out....

_**Transylvanian Concubine.  
You know what flows here like wine.  
Stay here with us, it's just time.  
Transylvanian Concubine. **_

Sorrow is their master  
Cackling with laughter  
Now he's having just one piece of...

Cakey is their make-up  
Catholics try to shake up  
All the things that form their lives, but they're...

Dead, their sighs, their songs  
They know what they do is wrong.  
Stay here with us, it's just time.  
Transylvanian Concubine.

As she listened to the lyrics, she couldn't help but laugh bitterly to herself. She could sort of relate to the song. Keira took a deep breath of air and began to flirt, sinfully with several of the customers. Krew had said if she did a good job, she would get bonuses and bonuses were always good. One of the last bonuses she recieved was one of his old hovering 'doughnut' engines which she promptly began working on a prototype hoverboard.

Keira nearly screamed as a younger, bolder man grinded his arousal against her as her pushed her against. Keeping her cool, she playfully got out of his embrace and jumped back onto the bar to resume her dancing.

_**Candelabra's lighted  
Satan has been sighted  
Never has there been an evening like... **_

This is what they wanted  
Always to feel hunted  
You can never be too rich or too...

Thin. The blood has run out.  
Fangs ruin any cute pout  
Morning has come now they've flown  
What have you learned from what has been shown?

She ended her dance lying across the bar with one arm over her head and the other draping across her stomach. The men all roared in appreciation as Keira hopped off the bar and resumed serving drinks and taking orders. She heard Krew cursing loudly at the other side of the bar and looked curiously at what was giving him trouble. The flying fat man swiftly struck one of the mechanical beer taps that came from storage.

"Damnable piece of machine!" He spat at it. Keira came closer to the broken machine.

"Can't you fix it?" She asked curiously, her mechanic side already assesing the problem and coming up with a quick fix solution. The obese man growled.

"No, I need a special mechanic for this piece of junk," Krew glared at the offending beer tap, "unless you've got a hidden mechanic in you somewhere, ey?" He joked. Without another word, Keira deftly set to work, taking off one of the outer coverings and fiddling with the insides. "EY! If you break that, it's coming out of your pay!" Keira ignored him as she set the covering back into place again. "Did you hear-" Krew was cut off as the girl began to operate the now-working beer tap. "Aaahhh.....so it seems you have a lot more to offer me, my little pet." Keira frowned distastfully at his pet name for her.

**-**

Keira flopped down into one of the booths, exhausted from a full days work. It was nearing four in the morning and she had finally managed to clean up the place. She nearly groaned when she heard the familiar whirring of a floating device coming towards her. During the whole six months Keira was working in the Hip Hog Heaven, she **_still_** couldn't figure out how that small (at least small compared to the rider) floating mechanism could carry all that weight....all those mounds of fat...she shivered in disgust, it was impossible! But there he was....flying around on that little doughnut with tiny, limp feet dangling from the bottom. Keira snorted in amusement, if that what his legs looked like, she couldn't imagine how shrivled and unused his **_third_** leg must look. An instant after she thought that, she shook her head in horror.

_'Oh Mar! Ick! ICK!!!! AAUGH!!! Fuck!'_ She screeched to herself, _'Baaaad mental image!! AUGH! THAT'S HORRENDOUSLY DISGUSTING!!!!! And the blob had the _**gall**_ to have portraits of himself hanging all over...._**full-bodied**_ portraits.'_ Keira sighed sadly, the six months she worked at Krew's bar had made her mature too early. She refused to let a tear slip down her cheek as she remembered everything she had gone through. Keira recalled everything in an instant. _'I've been felt up, beaten, molested, and raped....three times.....'_ She felt hollow inside, at least her heart did. Her body was beginning to betray her and she could tell her teenage hormones were raging and lusting after some of the really good lookers that came to the Hip Hog Heaven. But everytime she felt like she would lose control, she thought about Jak. He was her savior in her time in her own personal hell, she held onto what little innocence she had left when she remembered him. But then her thoughts would darken again. When she finds him, **_if_** she finds him....would she still be attracted to the shy, innocent mute? Would **_he_** still like her? Or would he despise this not-so-innocent, darker woman she was forced to grow into? Keira was brought out of her thoughts when Krew threw a morph gun onto the table in front of her, startling the young girl.

Keira looked up at the the flying obese man in confusion.

"Do you know how to use a gun, pet?" He asked, drool dribbling out of the corner of his mouth. She shook her head. "You don't, ey? Well, I suggest you learn fast cuz' I need you to go out to the Pumping Station. My delivery boy's vehicle carrying my precious cargo seems to have broken down, you see....and you're my only good mechanic. So, find my delivery boy, fix his vehicle, and you two ride back here...."

"You want me to go to the Pumping Station now?" She arched an eyebrow.

"You got a problem with that?" He growled as he came in close to her face. Keira just glared back and grabbed the morph gun off the table and pushed past Krew (with much difficulty).

"Just that it's four in the fuckin' morning," she growled darkly.

"Oh, and one more thing...." Krew called out and the girl stopped, "try not to get yourself killed...." He chuckled. Keira shook her head and began muttering curses under her breath and damning flying fat men to hell.

**-**

Keira examined the morph gun in her hand, it was equipped with a Scatter mode, Blaster mode, and Vulcan mode. She aimed at objects as she made her way closer to the Pumping Station gate, trying to get comfortable with the weapon. Soon, she felt as if the gun was an extention of her own arm. Keira set three bottles against a wall, spread a good three feet apart, she backed up at least thirty feet away. Taking careful aim at the bottle farthest to the left, she switched the gun to Blaster mode and shot.

_**BAM!**_

_**SQWAK!!!**_

Keira jumped in fright as a bird fell from the sky and landed a few feet away from the bottle she was aiming at.

"How the hell....I was aiming at the bottle!" She growled and aimed again, more carefully this time, and fired.

_**BAM!**_

_**WARK!!!**_

Another bird fell somewhere near the first.

"AUGH! This is fuckin' ridiculous!" Aiming again, she began to curse Krew to hell again, momentarily picturing the bottle as his ugly mug.

_**BAM!**_

_**CRASH!!**_

Keira blinked. She let out a huge smile and she laughed victoriously at the fallen bottle. She tried the same technique of picturing the people she had on her 'People I'm Not Fond Of' list as the targets and hit her mark on the first tries. Her victories were short lived as the gate to the Pumping Station began to open. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. _'Okay, Keira. You can't afford to screw up this time, we're not shooting at motionless bottles this time.....we're shooting at real live Metal Heads. Okay, you can do this.'_ For a brief and fleeting moment, Keira **_really_** wished that she had changed out of her waitressing uniform.

As soon as she stepped out into the Pumping Station, her senses were on high. Her eyes were scanning her surroundings and her ears were straining to hear any foriegn noises. Keira was at least relieved to see that it was getting lighter as the sun began to come up. She could see smoke spewing out from a distance and she knew that would be Krew's cargo. Keira stealthily made her way towards the smoke, only running into a few Metal Heads which she proudly took care of without breaking a sweat. She came upon the cargo transporter and yelped when a flowing gun was pointed at her face. The man wielding what looked like a Metal Head head with a glowing ball in its mouth slowly lowered the weapon. He was tall and dark, wearing heavy silver armor, his left eye was covered in a metal plate and replaced with a mechanical one but she noticed that his other, normal, eye was a deep green. The man stared at her warily.

"Who are you?" His voice was deep with a slight accent.

"Krew sent me," she replied, "you his delivery boy?"

"That fat bastard sent a **_kid_** to rescue me?" He looked at her in disbelief. Keira bristled when he called her 'kid' and stomped to the smoking part of the cargo transporter.

"I'm **_not_** a kid," she growled in defense, "now tell me whats wrong with your transporter."

"Don't tell me you're gonna **_fix_** it too," he looked even more shocked.

"Okay," she smirked, "I won't." Without another word, she began to work on the broken machine. After laying out all her tools from the bag on her back, that was also attactched to her finished hoverboard prototype, she easily started to fix the problem parts. "Sooooo...." she called from under the hood, "do you have a name? Or should I just call you Delivery Boy?" Keira smirked when she heard him snort.

"The name's Sig," he replied before grinning, "what about you, **_Kid_**?"

"It's Keira Hagai, gun wielding waitress and mechanic extraordinare." Sig chuckled, he was about to say something when he suddenly stopped and stood, pointing his gun at something Keira couldn't see. "What? What is it?" Sig watched as a horde of Metal Heads, at least fourty strong, climbed over the rocks thirty feet away from the transporter and began heading straight towards them.

"Kid, whatever you're doing, you better do it **_fast_**!"

Keira was almost done when she started hearing the roars of countless numbers of Metal Heads and the firing of Sig's gun. She could hear the smacking of his metal clad fist into a Metal Head body. Concentrating on screwing a bolt back in place, she wiped the sweat off her brow and tightened the bolt.

"Got it!" Keira threw all her tools into her bag and slung it back onto her back. Picking up her gun she deftly shot three Metal Heads, creeping up behind the older man,square in the Skull Gems, taking them down instantly. "Sig!"

"I hear ya', Kid." The two elves jumped into the cargo transporter and flew off towards the city.

**- - - - - -**

The room was pitch black, uneven breathing was the only sound with the occasional moan. Jak lay huddled on the floor, trying to keep himself warm. He was shirtles on the freesing floor but his body was on fire and it felt like he would explode any moment. He had overheard Erol talking and found out that he had been in theprison for six months, but it felt like he was there longer than that, he felt like he had been there for an eternity.He suffered torture andbeing experimented on andthe only way Jak could escape the pain was to let his mind slip into a different reality. A realitywhere Keira was with him, telling him that she loved him and everything would be okay, that soon the pain would stop and they would be together forever. But that escape couldn't last forever.

The dark eco found a way to seep into his fantasies and draw out the darker side of his being, the side that thrived off of the dark eco. Jak could feel it inside of him, a monster trying to claw its way out, wanting to soak its claws in the blood of everyone around him. He whimpered as the beast tried to take control but he fought against it, fought against the bloodlust. Suddenly the pain stopped and Jak relaxed, but kept alert in case it tried to surprise him. He didn't feel it try to take over his body but he did feel it probing his mind, Jak tried to shield himself but his inner demon had already gotten a hold of a collection of memories.....memories of Keira, fantasies of Keira. Jak was painfully aware that the demon had taken a sudden interest in the beautiful she-elf. He watched as his darker self created new fantasies of him and the girl he loved. Jak watched as the demon played the scenes over and over again in his head, where he was ravaging the girl as she cried his name out in pain and ecstasy. Jak screamed. He couldn't let this monster hurt Keira and vowed that he would protect her from himself.

He let a tear fall from his sad, blue eyes. Keira would never love him now, not when he's become a monster. More tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Keira..." he whispered brokenly. He soon drifted into a dreamless sleep as he pictured her smiling face above him.

**- - - - - -**

**A/N:** Gee hee....done with this chapter. Hmmm....It went on a lot longer than I expected. Okay, next chapter, Keira runs more errands for Krew with Sig, then gets introduced to Erol (he's gonna be a bad man in this fic) and takes a job as the mechanic for his racing team, much to Krew's displeasure, but she still runs errands for him sometimes. But the chapter after the next is when the big REUNION!!!! is. So please review and tell me what you think!


	3. Birthday Girl

**A/N:** Warning: This chapter contains rape, but its not too bad, I promise. Oookay, I forgot to mention, the song I used doesn't belong to me. It's called 'Transylvanian Concubine' by Rasputina, I don't own it, they do. I don't own anything except my guitars and this story so don't sue me!!

**Summary:** Keira begins to run errands for Krew with Sig until she is introduced to the world of racing. After being recruited on Erol's racing team, she still runs errands for Krew occasionally but devotes most of her time trying to find out where Jak, Daxter, and her Father is and working on another Rift Rider to take them back home.

**Pairings (eventually):** JakxKeira, TornxAshelin, DaxterxTess

**Special thanks to my only reviewers! **I nearly cried when I got reviews, I either a) need more reviews to light up my life, of 2) get a life.....

**June:** Thank you!!! But what do you mean by 'fucked up stories?'

**gohan11:** It gets even sadder (is that a word? lol) but don't worry, it'll get happier after this chapter. Thank you for reviewing!

**------**

**Darker Still  
**by Ashelin Rayne

**Chapter Two  
**_Birthday Girl_

_'Just a little to the left....'_

Sweat trickled down the side of Keira's face as she aimed her Blaster carefully at a large, ape-like Metal Head. The sun beat down, mercilessly at her back as she lay in a sniper position.

_'I shouldn't have worn dark and black clothes,'_ Keira growled to herself, noting her black pants, lined with dark green and navy blue, ends tucked into her knee-high combat boots and dark green, belly shirt with her waitressing vest. There were two new additions to her outfit, a polished, silver metal piece of shoulder armor on her right shoulder and a ring belt (a/n: something like the ring thing Jak wears) on her left hip with thin belts securing a pouch on her opposite hip. Attatched to her the bag on her back was the prototype hoverboard made of black and green metal.

"Come on, Kid," Sig smirked as he crouched beside her, gaurding her back if any other Metal Heads decide to sneek up on them, "I'm gettin' old sittin here."

"Oh hush, Delivery Boy," the girl flashed him her own smirk, "I'm trying to get it on my first shot."

"We're all not perfectionists like you, cherry," he teased. Keira ignored the elf and focused back on her target, moving her Blaster slightly to the left.

**BAM!**

She smirked as the Metal Head fell to the ground after recieving an instantly fatal headshot.

"Got it!" The two got up to collect the fallen prize.

This was the eleventh time Krew had sent her out with Sig to run one of his errands, the only thing Keira enjoyed about them was spending time with Sig and shooting things (it helped her vent her anger...which she had a **_LOT_** of). This time, Krew wanted the two to bag a few Metal Heads to serve as trophies in the Hip Hog Heaven, to attract more customers. She had been working at the H.H.H for nearly a year now, there was also a new girl there to help out too, a nice blonde elf named Tess. The two had hit off the first time they met and relied on eachother to make it through the day as they waitressed.

Tess let Keira in on a little secret of hers after the first month of working together. She told her that she was working for the Underground and they had sent her hear to keep a tab on Krew, the fat blob had a lot of ties in the city and was good for collecting information. The blonde had offered Keira a place in the Underground but she declined, Tess was a little disappointed but cheered up when the she-elf promised to help them out if they needed it.

"Damn Metal Heads," Sig grumbled as he proceeded to sever the head to make into a trophy, "you can never kill enough of em'."

"Which is good," Keira said nonchalantly as she toggled through the gun modes. Sig gave raised and eyebrow at her.

"What the hell do you mean? I think bein' out here in the sun 's fried your brain, Kid. How is havin' a shit load o' Metal Heads good?"

"It means that I get to shoot more of em'," she grinned ferally. The armor-clad elf let out a deep laugh as he finished bagging the trophy head. "More Metal heads, more things that need killing." _'And more things to take my anger out on.'_ Keira added silently.

"Kid, has anyone ever told ya' that you're insane?"

"Yup."

**-**

The bar was nearly spotless as the blue-and-green haired she-elf scrubbed them absentmindedly. Keira sighed as her mind was absorbed in her own thoughts, mostly about her missing father and friends. Nearlly a year and **_still_** there was no sign of the three. Much to her dismay, one half of Keira was dreading the day they were rerunited. _'Would they recognize me? What would they think of the woman I've become? What would Daddy think now that his 'litte girl' as gone away? What would Daxter say? Would I still have a chance with Jak? Or would he despise this angry, depressed, Metal-Head-homocidal freak I've turned into?'_ All those questions and many others swam through her head. _'I know that everything won't be the same anymore....I've lost myself. I don't know who I am anymore. Beneath the waitress, beneath the triger-happy 'Wastelander' girl....who am I? I'm just thankful I have Sig and Tess to keep me grounded.'_

Keira was pulled from her thoughts when the doors to the H.H.H slid open and three Krimzon Guards walked in, two were in full armor and the third was an angry looking man with tattoos on his face (very common in Haven City, Keira found out) and brown, dreadlocked hair that ended at the nape of his neck. The she-elf put on her meanest looking scowl as they came nearer, Keira had developed a burning hatred for the Krimzon Guard and Baron Praxis. A few months after she arrived here, she noticed how corrupt the K.G. were and she couldn't believe that idiotic Baron. She was horrified at how he ran the city, she had stopped to listen to some of the announcements made from him and was appaled at his stupidity.

**_Fear not the men in red. Sure there are occasional complaints, about their over-aggressive policing, wanton destruction of people's property during raids, mass arrest, misplaced loved ones and whatnot. Hey, we're only human! Running a city can be tougher than it looks. Imagine how much worse it would be if the Metal Heads were in charge._ **Keira snorted, the city wouldn't be worse off. '_At least with the Metal Heads, they would be kind enough to kill us instead of feeding us this bull shit.'_

**_It can be so lonely at the top. And looking down from up here, I can see that this dirty city is in desperate need of revitalisation. So, to that end, we will be bulldozing many sections of the city in the coming weeks. All complaints against this construction initiative can be brought - in person - to the fortress prison where they will be...reviewed._ **'_Only someone who was a complete moron could come up with that,'_ she snarled mentally.

_**As your Baron, I am instituting a No Hoverboard Rule in the city. Young delinquents, with nothing better to do than float around and do tricks! Huh, I'll put all violators into the Guard and teach them some discipline. No skating. It's the law.**_ _'Like _**that's**_ gonna stop me.'_

**_Attention Citizens: This is your Baron speaking. There have been several unauthorised uses of the City's old gate locks. Fortunately these breeches have not resulted in contamination. But we all know how deadly the wasteland is. No-one is allowed outside the city without authorisation. Let it be known that any violators will be caught and executed._** _'Hmm...I didn't know that....like I care...'_ she rolled her eyes.

**_Serve your city. Sacrifice for your city. And all will prosper. You are safe, because I care._** - **_Obey. And be happy._** - **_Sacrifice is something you should do for your city._** - **_One way, My Way._** - **_Give up your freedom and I will protect you!_** - **_You're safe inside the walls with me._** - **_The city is safe, I will not allow harm to befall you. Trust me._**

_**'FUCK THAT!!!** That jackass is abso-fuckin'-lutely insane! Damn idiot....'_

"Hey!" A fist slammed on the bar in front of Keira and she jumped and looked up at the brown haired elf. "I'm talkin' to you!"

"Oh," Keira pulled on the ditzy girl act, "I'm sorry." She put on a fake smile which was all she could do to stop herself from ripping their heads off. "What'd ya' say?"

"Where's Krew?" He growled, fury radiating off of him in waves at her for ignoring him.

"I dunno," she grinned. _'It's kind of hard to miss him, seriously, the guy's like....a blimp. Who could miss someone that large?'_ She added amusingly to herself. Her answer only pissed the Guard even more.

"Well, I suggest you find him," the elf threatened as he grabbed her arm and pulled Keira towards him. The girl growled and snatched her arm back and shoved him out of her face.

"Don't touch me," her hand hovered over her morph gun under the bar, "fuckin' Krimzon Guards." She muttered darkly.

"What was that?" He eyed her with an angry glare.

"Torn, how....nice to see you," Krew interrupted as he glided into the room and hovered next to Keira. The fat man let his fingers slide over her bare shoulder, "Please don't arrest her, she's my best waitress, you see."

"Fine, but only because I want to get this done and over with so I can get out of this dump," he glared at the girl behind the bar.

"Ah yes....I completely forgot about the Baron's order of inspection," Krew laughed nervously. That was a lie. He had been fussing and bitching at Keira to get her to hide all of his less-than-legal collections in the other room in the back. She had to make sure everything was stored in a secret room, away from the Krimzon Guards' reach. As the two, fully armored guards went off to do the inspection and Krew glided off to do Mar-knows-what, Keira continued wiping down the bar and tried some small-talk with the elf named Torn who was still sitting in front of her.

"So, how's your lovely Baron Praxis?" She tried not to say the Baron's name like it was a deadly plauge but couldn't help but let a little venom slip. The Guard raised an eyebrow.

"He's alive and well," he answered.

"Unfortunately," the two muttered at the same time and both looked up at each other, shocked. Keira slipped on a lazy grin.

"Am I hearing things or do you not like a certain someone?" She smirked as Torn fidgeted nervously.

"Don't say that outloud!" He hissed in a hushed tone, "And besides, it's none of your concern."

"Uh huh," Keira smirked, she looked around but found no one else in the bar except the two. The other two guards and Krew had gone into the back rooms. "Ever think of joining the Underground?" The elf grew silent. "Don't know? Well, if you decide that you do, I can help you out. My friend's part of them." The conversation abruptly ended when the other guards came back.

**-**

"Ahh....Keira," Krew glided over to the said girl the day after the inspection, "just the lovely little mechanic I was looking for." Keira just gave him a deadpanned look.

"What do want me to do, Krew?" She sighed, already knowing he wanted her to run an errand for him.

"Straight to the point, ey?" He laughed, "Well, Erol is racing today and he's just lost his mechanic, you see....and I've got a lot of money riding on this race. I've promised him my best mechanic, you. So, I need you to replace his mechanic until he finds another one."

"Mechanic?" For once, a mission that peaked her interest, "I'll do it."

"That's my pet," Krew chuckled, "you better get to the garage now, the race starts in a few hours, ey." With that, Keira bolted out the door with her backpack, holstered gun, and hoverboard, not bothering to change out of her waitressing uniform.

Keira glided through Haven City towards the city, carefully avoiding the Krimzon Guards which was a little difficult when the were practically everywhere she looked. She laughed as some of them tried to chase after her, but after she flashed them a sexy smirk and showed a little leg, the stopped. _'Ah, the advantages of being a beautiful woman,'_ she laughed darkly. Being a beautiful woman was a gift, but also a curse.

Finally, Keira reached the stadium and hopped off her hoverboard, retracting it to a smaller size with the press of a button and placing it in its holster on her backpack. She quietly made her way to the garage, when she entered, she gasped. Like a kid in a candy store, she rushed to run her hands on the shiny new tools and broken pieces of machinery that she was just itching to fix. Keira moved onto a yellow and sea foam green racing zoomer with smoke rising from its engine. She ran her fingerless-gloved hand along the warm, colorful metal.

"Excuse me?" A voice startled the girl and she jumped up and turned to the owner of the voice. There was a man standing there in a skintight, yellow, black, and white suit, he had a kind of helmet on his tattooed head. Keira's lips twitched as she forced herself to not fall on the floor and roll around with laughter. _'Jeez, this guy needs to cover up himself,'_ she thought as her eyes unintentionally traveled to the lower part of his body, then snorted when she almost burst out laughing, _'not that he has much _**to**_ cover up...'_

"Who are you?" He asked as she watched his eyes travel hungrily up and down her body. Keira shifted uncomfortably as she felt like he was undressing her with his eyes, the girl unconsciously wrapped her around herself.

"I'm...umm....the mechanic," Keira averted her gaze to the damaged zoomer, "Krew sent me."

"You? The **_mechanic?_**" The creepy elf stared at her in shock, a constant reaction she got whenever she told anyone what she was, "How old are you?"

"Uhh....nineteen," she lied. After a moment, he shook himself out of his stupor.

"Well, my name is Erol, I'm the racer of this beautiful zoomer," Erol stepped next to Keira, "but not as beautiful as you." She restrained herself from rolling her eyes at the cheesey pick up line, she lost count of how many times she heard **_that_** one.

"Keira," she replied, ignoring his sad attempt at flattery. "So, what's wrong with it?"

"Erm, I don't know," he chuckled. Shaking her head, she went and lifted the hood to the engine, assessing the damage. As Keira bent over the engine, examining all the parts, Erol stepped back to watch her from behind, eyes sweeping over the exposed skin and the back of the skirt that was lifting up as she leaned forward. His gaze snapped back up when she stood up straight and turned to face him.

"Well, I think you may have blown a head gasket in several of the combustion chambers," she informed him, "whoever your last mechanic was, he wasn't very good."

"I guess you should get started then," Erol said, sitting back as she began her work.

**-**

Sighing in annoyance, Keira was on her hoverboard, on her way to the garage again. A month ago, when she had first went to the garage, she nearly went insane as she worked to fix the engine of the racing zoomer because Erol had persistantly flirted with him. She was so close to screaming and beating him into a bloody pulp. Now, Erol had asked Krew if she could work for him from then on, of course he wasn't easily persuaded but with two bags full of money, he agreed, on the condition that she still run errands for him from time to time. Keira looked forward to working as a mechanic, however, absolutely **_dreaded_** having to see the arrogant right hand man of that bastard, Praxis. When she found out that he worked very closely with the Baron, her dislike for him grew, but Keira had to cover up her burning hatred with smiles. She was good at that, having perfected it during her time at the H.H.H., pretending to flirt back was an exallent way to milk out anything from him, especially information that she could pass onto Tess who in turn would pass on that information to the Underground, which Torn was now a part of. She grinned at the thought of the angry ex-Krimzon Guard.

Keira growled as another elf gave her a cat call, she knew she should've gotten rid of her waitressing outfit but she had grown quite fond of it, it was a very handy tool to get out of being arrested by K.G. and getting men to buy her things. It was a bad habit, she knew, but it was just so fun and easy.

"You know, you could get arrested flying around on that hoverboard," a voice called out from Keira's left. She jumped of the board and held it under her arm as she turned to face the elf. It was a she-elf in red and blue. She had a red belly shirt with a long-sleeved blue jacket and blue pants with the outer sides exposed. The woman had red hair pulled in dreadlocks and a tattooed face.

"Hey Ash," Keira smirked at the she-elf. Ashelin Praxis, daughter of the idiotic Baron, Keira much rather perfered the daughter over the father. She had met Ashelin thorugh Erol and Torn informed her that she was helping the Underground, which immediately put her on Keira's 'People That Are Okay' list. The two became fast frieends, sharing a common bond of loving to shoot and kill things (Metal Heads). Tess, Ashelin, and Keira usually had a ladies night out at the Hip Hog Heaven on Fridays, which was the only time they could hang out with each other, most of the time they were all caught up in work. On the rare occasions when Keira and Ashelin had the days off, Ashelin was teaching Keira hand-to-hand combat, gymnastics, and talking about the Underground. Keira, being the ever-vigilant observer that she was, notices a slight sparkle in the older she-elf's eyes as she spoke about Torn, coincidentally, she noticed the same, unusual sparkle in Torn's usually cold eyes as he talked about Ashelin. With a determined grin, Keira proclaimed to herself that she would get the two stiffs together.

"Are you headed towards the garage?" She asked with a knowing smirk. Keira grumbled out a 'yes' miserably. "Is Torn still at it?" When the younger she-elf glared at the ground, the read head let out a laugh. "Do you want me to fix that problem **_permenantly?_** I could do it, besides, that arrogant prick needs to be hurt."

"Nah, I can take care of it, although the offer sounds tempting," Keira giggled, "maybe if I agree to go out on a date with him once and be completely horrible to him, he'll lose interest."

"Whatever you want," Ashelin laughed.

"I better go before Ero; sends out a search party," the green-and-blue haired she-elf grinned.

"Yeah, I gotta meet up with Torn," she saw that sparkle in the older she-elf's eyes again. With a nod, Keira jumped back on her hoverboard and turned towards the direction of the garage.

"Later!" She called over her shoulder.

**-**

Keira was ready to take Sig's beloved Peacemaker and shoot herself with it. She had done everything, **_everything_** possible to drive any sane person away on her date with Erol. She had continuously abandoned him to dance with other guys, she ignored him, she obviously ran from him, hell, she even **_insulted_** him, but he just kept coming on to her even more persistently and agressively. So agressively, it began to scare her.

"Erol, for the **_last TIME!!!_**" Keira shoved his arm off of her shoulders as they walked out of the H.H.H, "**_I DON'T LIKE YOU!_**" She snapped, unable to take any more of his advances. "Would you just _leave me **alone**_ already!?!" She yelped when Erol grabbed her upper arm and pulled her to him, smelling alcohol on his breath, she noticed just how drunk he was. Drunk enough to do something stupid.

"No one, **_NO ONE!!!_** Says no to **_me_**," Erol roared, he began to drag her -kicking and screaming- off in one direction. Keira was about to kick him in the groin but he hit her in the back of her head, keeping her dazed for a few moments. The she-elf faintly noticed being pushed up against an alley way wall, she could hear the rustling of clothes. Suddenly, she felt Erol ram into her. Keira screamed but was silenced when he covered her mouth with his, tears streamed down her cheeks as the man forcefully pumped in and out of her.

_'No no no no.....'_ she cried in her head, '_not again! Oh Mar, not again!'_ An image of Jak's smiling face appeared in her mind's eye, _'Jak....I'm so sorry...I'm not strong enough, I can't survive without you...'_ The image faded as her world descended into darkness.

**-**

Groggily opening an emerald green eye, Keira found it still dark outside. She found herself lying on the ground in the alley when the memories of what happened came back to her, tears began falling from her eyes as she sobbed. Keira noticed a blood stain on the ground, not too far from her, it had survived the elements through out the year. _'Someone up there must _**really**_ hate me _**and**_has a sick sense of humor or irony.'_ Keira thought as the tears stoped flowing. She was sitting in the same alley where she killed that man so many nights ago. As she moved, she noticed a note fall out of her hand, curious and sore all over, she picked it up and read it.

_**Don't tell ANYONE or I'll throw you in jail.**_

Keira growled and ripped the paper to shreds, pretending that it was Erol. The she-elf never in her life wanted to hurt anyone....well, that was a lie, but she had now created a new list. It was her 'Men That I Hate With A Passion That Burns Hotter Than A Thousand Suns And Want To Castrate With A Rusty Meat Grinder And Make Them Suffer So Bad They Would Wish They Had Never Messed With Keira Hagai' and Erol had just made it to the top of that list. She was going to take a nice, month-long vacation **_away_** from that bastard, probably running errands for Krew with Sig the whole time, taking out her hatred and anger on the Metal Heads. She might even go with the Wastelander to that Wasteland city he told her about, Esparagus? Spartan? She couldn't remember, it hurt too much to think at the moment. Keira dragged herself up onto her protesting legs and made her way back to the Hip Hog Heaven to her back room. As she left the alley way, she growled bitterly to herself.

"Happy Sweet Sixteen to me."

**------**

Jak could hear Erol bragging about how he scored on some hot chick that night, taking her in an alley way near a place called Hip Hog Heaven because she wanted him so bad she couldn't wait to get to his place. The man in the dark cell snorted.

_'Yeah right, the pompous fucker probably had to rape the poor girl to get any.'_ Jak didn't know how right he was.

At the mention of rape, the beast inside set off another chain of dark fantasies involving Keira.

That was how it was for the past year, the beast thought about nothing except killing Praxis and having Keira. Beating Praxis to a bloody pulp. Tearing the clothes off of Keira's delicious body. Gouging the Baron's eyes out. Tasting the girl's sweet nectar. Ripping his limbs off one by one as he was still alive. Having her squirming under her. Soaking his claws in his warm blood. Hearing her scream his name in ecstasy as they both hit their climax, digging her nails into his back in a painfully erotic way as he filled her with his seed.

Jak, with great difficulty, took control over his mind, groaning at the painful erection he now had. After taking care of it, he lay on the cold floor, panting, trying to regain his composure. He thought of his beautiful elf maided and remembered what date it was. Jak smiled into the dark room.

"Happy birthday....Keira."

**------**

A/N: Finally, done with that chapter. YAY! Next chapter is the long awaited REUNION!!!! Until next time! Plaese review! I like reviews, reviews are like cookies cuz everyone likes cookies.....actually, I don't like cookies. The reviews are like pizzas!.....Actually, some people don't like pizzas either (shocking, I know, who doesn't like pizza). Okay, so reviews are like something everybody really likes! Oxygen! Everyone likes oxygen cuz it keeps us alive, so reviews are like oxygen.....erm, just..please review.


	4. Long Awaited Reunion

**A/N:** Ahh, the big REUNION!!!! This chap is a little longer than the others, but I guess that's a good thing, Ne? Some of the lines in this chapter are taken directly from the game, it was a little frustrating when I was trying to figure out how to integrate my story with the game, but I hope I did a decent job. And just to let you know, " **-** " means a time change that could mean a few hours later to a whole year.

**Summary:** Jak, Keira, and Daxter are reunited after a whole two years apart.

**Pairings:** JakxKeira, TornxAshelin, DaxterxTess

**Special Thanks To:**

**hersheykisses:** Great Googily Moogily! You're my favoritest (I dont think that's a word...) reviewer of all time!! Thank you very much and I hope I please you and everyone else with the only gift I can give: More Chapters. Your review is **_very_** much appreciated!!!

**Red Hawk K'sani:** After this chapter, I'm going to even out the point of view by balancing it out between Jak and Keira, And what are c2 communities? I don't really pay attention to anything that goes on at heh...too bad that you can't put it up, but it's the thought that counts and I'm thankful for your review!

**ChaosTheory007:** Thank you very much! ) and here's the update!

**SilverHawk 27:** Thanks! I thought It'd be really funny for Keira to meet everyone before Jak....I dunno, my brain is weird like that. )

**gohan11:** Took a while to write it, but here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy!

**AL:** Yup, the big reunion has come! If you like long chapters, I guess you'll like this one, it's longer than the others!

**Thank you for reviewing! It really lights up my gloomy, Washington(the state) day! )**

**------**

**Darker Still  
**by Ashelin Rayne

**Chapter Three  
**_Long-Awaited Reunion_

Spargus City, Keira decided was a wonderful place to spend some time away from the metal city, if one didn't mind the giant, dinosaur-like Metal Heads and the extremely aggressive, attacks-anyone-caught-out-in-the-desert, Marauders that patrol the deserts around the city. Sig had taken her out to a small Metal Head nest a couple times which she enjoyed immensely as she sat at the gun turret, shooting anything that moved with childish glee as she pretended that they were mini-Erols. The armor-clad Wastelander had noticed the depression that had settled over his tiny she-elf friend, but knowing how moody women were, decided not to press her on it too much. He just allowed her to enjoy the Metal Head killing spree she was on, amused as she cackled maniacally, screaming 'Take **_THAT_** you **_BASTARD!!!_**' He immediately came to the conclusion that something **_unpleasant_** had happened with a man she **_disliked_** very much, or that man had done something that she was**_ definately_** not pleased with.

Sig had taken Keira to the ruler of the city, King Damas, to introduce the two. She found the old King to be quite pleasant, he was very kind and a great ruler. His generally sweet nature and kindness reminded her of someone she knew but couldn't place her finger on who. Keira was saddened when she heard that he had a son that was missing somewhere in Haven City, but he told her that she shouldn't worry about it. She spent the whole the whole month in Damas' palace as a guest, spending most of her time venting her anger as she killed Metal Heads, collecting artifacts with the King, working out and training, using the moves Ashelin had taught her, and exploring all the places around Spargus City. Keira didn't want to leave, but she had to get back to Haven City so she could find the others.

As soon as she got back to the Hip Hog, Krew bombarded her with questions, saying that Erol had been bothering him non-stop, asking about her whereabouts. Keira held back her gag as the mountain of blob's spit sprayed everywhere, including her face. Wiping away the nasty fluids, she promptly told him that she was on a vacation and left it at that. A second after the words left her mouth, the spawn of Satan entered the doors of the Hip Hog, drawing out a dangerous growl from Keira. Immediately spotting the young woman, Erol cried out in glee and spang over to embrace her. Keira cried out and shoved him, with extreme force, away from her and into a table.

"Don't you fuckin' touch me, you sick bastard!" She screamed as she glared down at him.

"Please Keira," the man looked at her with fake-sorrow which she easily saw through, "I'm sorry! I was drunk, I won't ever hurt you again!" The she-elf inwardly scoffed.

"Don't you ever touch me again," she warned, a death threat laced in her icy voice, "I won't warn you again."

"Please, Keira my love, come back to the garage with me," he begged pathetically, "you're the best mechanic I've ever had, and I'll do whatever you ask." Keira raised an eyebrow.

"I want a raise," she said coldly. Erol quickly took out a fist sized pouch and took out a couple of gold coins and placed them in her hand, "Do you want me to starve in this Mar-forsaken place?" He placed several more coins in her hand. "I mean, really, a girl can never get anything to eat here." More coins were added to the others. "You really must want me to become a walking skeleton, don't you?" Half the bag was poured into her hand. "I knew I would die here, but I at least thought my stomach would be filled." Erol sighed and placed the whole bag into her tiny hand and Keira grinned.

"I also want the apartment above the garage and, eventually, my own racing team," she added as she poured the coins into the pouch and threw it into her backpack.

"It's done."

"Okay, then we have a deal." Keira went into the back room to pack what little items she had.

"That woman drives a hard bargain, ey?" Krew chuckled at the idiotic racer, "Get's it from me, you see."

"EROL!" The she-elf suddenly yelled from her room, "If you so much as TOUCH me in a way I don't like, I'll CASTERATE YOU WITH A RUSTY MEAT GRINDER!!!!!"

Erol gulped.

**-**

"Are you sure you don't want to meet the Shadow?" Torn asked the blue-and-green haired she-elf.

"Nah, I'm good. So," Keira sat with Tess at the Underground's HQ which she occasionally visited, a year after she had gotten back from Spargus City, "how goes it with Operation: Overthrow The Fuckin' Retarded Baron? No offense Ashelin."

"None taken," was the reply from the red-head. The four people sat around a rectangular table with Torn at the head, Ashelin to his right, Tess to his left, and Keira at the other end.

"Not so good," Torn sighed, "Praxis has finally recognized us as a major threat to his rule, now he's gonna be coming down on us a lot harder. Everything's about to become much more difficult."

"Mmm, sounds like fun," Keira replied grimly. When Tess offered her an alcoholic beverage she declined. "Sorry but I can't, not at the legal age yet," she smirked. All three heads whipped towards her direction.

"What do mean 'not at the legal age yet'?" Ashelin raised an eyebrow, "You're twenty-one....right?" Their eyes widened as she shook her head.

"You're at least eighteen," Tess spoke out, "I mean, you work at a bar." Keira's smirk only widened.

"Nope, I'm sixteen."

"**_WHAT!?!"_** They exclaimed at the same time.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"That would mean, if you were telling me the truth, that you were fifteen when you started working for Krew!" Tess gasped. Keira nodded. "But...but that's **_illegal!"_** The green-and-blue haired she-elf raised an eyebrow.

"More than half the things Krew does are illegal," she laughed, "I don't see why you're so surprised."

"You didn't **_look_** fifteen," Torn muttered.

"Yeah," the other two ladies agreed. The young she-elf just shrugged.

"But why?" Ashelin asked in confusion, "**_Why_** would you work for someone like him?"

"Yes, I knew he was a slimeball the moment I walked in, but I was desperate," Keira knew that answer didn't quell their curiosity, "it's complicated, besides, I think the Baron issue is a more pressing matter than hearing my life story." The group reluctantly went back to discussing more plans as they were eager to learn more about the mysterious she-elf sitting with them, but they let it slide.

**------**

Screams echoed throughout room as a ray gun zapped drak eco into a figure strapped to a cold, metal torturing table. The figure had long, sleek, green and blonde hair with a small green goatee and was dreesed in light colored pants and shirt, he wore a pair of goggles around his forehead with a red, cape like cloth attatched to it, winding around his neck and falling behind his back.

The screaming abruptly stopped as the machine shut off, two other figures hovered over the man on the table, one in a skin tight suit and the other with most of his left side replced with metal.

"Dark Eco injection cycle complete. Bio readings nominal and unchanged," the computer's voice rang out.

"Hhhppp." The larger figure, none other than Baron Praxis, grumbled, "Nothing! I was informed that this one might be different!"

"He is surprisingly resistant to your 'experiments', Baron Praxis," Erol, the smaller figure, mused, "I fear the Dark Warrior program has failed."

"Aaaagh!" The Baron glared at the figure on the table, "You should at least be dead with all the Dark Eco I've pumped into you!"

"What now? Metal Head armies are pressing their attacks," Erol turned to his commander, "without a new weapon, my men cannot hold them off forever!" Praxis glowered darkly.

"I will not be remembered as the man who lost this city to those vile creatures!" He yelled angrily, "Move forward with the final plan! And finish off this 'thing' tonight!" He stalked off towards the exit.

"As you wish," Erol leaned in towards the figure groaning on the table, "I'll finish you later..." He followed the Baron out of the room.

The man on the table lay silently, contemplating the fate that was now laid out before him. He was going to die. The elf shut his eyes tightly, it was the only way to keep his tears at bay as he thought to himself. _'Keira...I'm sorry, I've failed you......'_ Just as the man, now recognized as Jak, finished that thought, he heard the sound of a platform raising towards his table and the voice of someone familiar.

"Ding, ding... Third floor... Body chains, roach food, torture devices," an orange Ottsel with goggles on his head and fingerless gloves on his hand jumped off the platform and onto Jak. "Hey buddy... you seen any heroes around here?" His eyes widened when he recognized his best friend. "WHOA! What'd they do to you? Jak, it's me... Daxter!" Jak groans and barely opens his eyes before letting his head drop back onto the table. "That's a fine hello! I've been crawling around in this place risking my tail, literally, to save you! I've been looking for you for two years! Say something! Just this once!!" He yelled, shaking him by the front of his shirt. The dazed elf began to regain his senses and suddenly snapped.

"I'm gonna **_KILL_** Praxis!" He roared and began struggling against his bindings.

"Shhhhhh! Right now, we gotta get you outta here," Daxter hissed as he moved over to his left hand, trying to figure out how to get him off the metal table, "just let me figure out how to open the security locks for your chair so..." The Ottsel was cut off when the elf let out an inhuman scream, he watched as his skin changed from tan to pale white, tinted purple. Jak's eyes darkened until they were like pitch black orbs, horns grew out of his head, tangled in his now stark white hair, he grew sharp and deadly fangs and claws, and dark eco cackled like electricity around him. Jak ripped the metal bindings like they were paper and lept off of the table.

"Or aaah... you could do it," Daxter chuckled nervously as the beast he silently dubbed 'Dark Jak' turned towards him with a malicious glint in his dark, bottomless-pit-for-eyes. "Jak? Easy now. Easy buddy. It's, it's your old pal Daxter, remember?" Dark Jak roared and raised his arm to attack but suddenly stopped as Jak took control, changing back to his normal self.

"Daxter?" He shook his head to regain some of his senses.

"What the heck was that?! Sheesh, remind me not to piss you off! Come on, tall dark and gruesome. We're outta here!" The orange ball of fur lead the dazed elf to an escape route, "I, uh, brought you some new threads. Put 'em on." He motioned towards the blue tunic, brown pants, boots, and his ring belt that straps to his chest on the platform. Jak quickly changed and the two were off.

**------**

"When can I get one of those?" Keira asked over the whirring of the charging Peacmaker. Sig laughed.

"How 'bout...two weeks from never?"

"You're no fun," she pouted, "I want a new toy to kill Metal Heads with..."

"Kid, you really are an odd one," he chuckled as he let off a shot at a small group of Metal Heads, wiping them out instantly. Torn had asked the she-elf to go out into the ruined town she reffered to as Dead Town to clear out the Metal Heads roaming around. He wanted her to go with a few of his men but she declined, saying she would be fine and would bring her own friend, Sig, along. Keira whined like a little kid while she stood to the older elf's left.

"See?! You gun is way cooler than mine!"

"I know that, cherry," the tall, dark man smirked.

"You suck Yakkow balls, you know that?"

Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling coming from the large ruined tower behind them. They turned and watched as the building began to collapse upon itself, Keira saw movement in the corner of her eye, it looked like a figure grinding down a cable but when she searched for it she found nothing. Waving it off as paranoia, she turned back to Sig who was already moving on to collect the Skull Gems.

"Are you sure I can't have one?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Can't I just shoot it? Just once?"

"No!"

"Please?!"

"Kid...." Sig growled in annoyance.

"Alright, alright," Keira backed off, "spoil all my fun, why don't you?"

**-**

A fist slammed onto the table in the Underground HQ, Keira jumped at the sudden action as she walked in. She found Torn growling darkly at the piece of furniture, he would've burned a large hole in it with his intense glare if he could. The she-elf smirked at her hot-tempered friend.

"Now what did that poor table do to be the recieving end of your temper tantrum?" She teased. Torn looked up and glared at his friend.

"For the **_last_** time," he began to growl again, "I **_don't_** have **_temper tantrums_**. I just found out the Baron's gaurds were giving _eco_ to **_Metal Heads!"_**

"What the hell?" Keira gasped, "That bastard better not be making deals with those damn monsters, if he is then he just gave me a new reason to rip his balls off."

"I just sent my infromants over to deliver some eco ore to Krew," he told her, "they're gonna try to squeeze some information from him."

"Not before that fat fuck sends them out on a mission," she sighed, knowing the bar owner all too well. "I'm gonna go over there to see if they'll need any help."

"I think they'll be fine, knowing them, killing a few Metal Heads will be a piece of cake after blowing up one of the Barron's ammunition's dump," Torn grinned. Keira raised an eyebrow at the elf.

"**_They_** were the ones that blew that place up?" She laughed, "I think we'd get along just dandy, remind me to thank them later for that." Keira walked out of the room and, deciding to not use her prototype JET-board, walked up to a nice, shiney zoomer someone had carelessly left lying around. After hot wiring it, she sped off, sticking close to the ground instead of the higher level where all the other zoomers traveled. Keira couldn't resist, letting out a devillish smirk as she ran over a Krimzon Guard. Immediately, the alarms went off and she slammed on the gas, speeding well over eighty miles per hour as she dodged the fire and manuvered through the city expertly. As she neared the Hip Hog, she lept off the zoomer and let it keep zooming in one direction to throw off the KG as she entered the H.H.H. She laughed when she safely made it into the bar, making Krew give her an odd look.

"Aahh, Keira, my pet," he glided over to her, "what brings you to my lovely bar?"

"Where are the guys that delivered your eco ore?" She asked, getting straight to the point.

"The Underground's new delivery boys, ey?" Krew raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "Mmmm, I just sent them off with Sig to collect a few Metal Head trophies, why so interested, ey?"

"Damn it! Sig said he wouldn't go hunting without me," Keira glared at the wall, "and what I'm interested in is none of you god damn business."

"Hmm, I need my smuggling route in the sewers to be cleared of the Baron's Sentry Guns," the fat man stroked his chin, "but Erol needs repairs on his zoomer for today's race. He's asked for your assistance so I'll just have the boys handle it when they get back. Why are you still standing there, ey? Get to the garage!"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard ya'!" Keira muttered as she walked out the door, "damn idiotic Erol, probably gets his zoomer damaged just so he could get me to fix it."

**-**

Keira, for once, was happy at the news Erol delivered to her. He had just given her own racing team, leaving her to find her own driver, though. As soon as he left the garage, she went behind a green curtain that hid her secret project, a new Rift RIder. Keira started building it at the start of the year, determined to go home after she found the others. She laughed bitterly as she thought how she would've reacted, three years ago, if she saw herself now, knowing what happened during the past two years. The younger Keira would be disgusted and horrified and probably would've cried for her in pity, but the older Keira knew that life was cold, cruel, and ever-changing and you had to change, had to become harder and stronger to survive. Keira then laughed bitterly when she though of her father, Jak, and Daxter's reactions when they found she changed from Carefree, Happy-Go-Lucky! Keira to Angry, Bitter-and-Murderous! Keira.

"Fuck!" She cursed as she dropped one of her tools onto her hand. She cradled the throbbing hand to her chest and shook her head of all thoughts, right now she had to focus on building the RIft Rider from her excellent memory.

**-**

The Rift Rider was near completion, sweat trickled down the she-elf's forehead and cheek behind a large mask as she used a blow torch to weld pieces of metal together. Shutting off the flaming torch, she slipped the face mask off and wiped off the sweat as she pulled off her outer working gloves. Keira stepped out from behind the curtain and chugged down a bottle of water sitting at the table, she coughed as she choked on the water when Krew popped out of no where.

"Aaaah, Keira, I have good news," the flying obese man grinned, "I've found the perfect candidate for your racing team."

"That's great, you're **_so_** kind," she replied sarcastically, then looked at him suspiciously, "what's in it for you?"

"Oh, nothing," his grin spread wider, "just for half of all the profit you and your racer recieves." Keira rolled her eyes, knowing that he would say something like that. She waved off the fat man.

"Whatever, if he makes it from the Hip Hog to the garage in less than three minutes, I'll consider it."

**------**

"I have a proposition for you, Jak," Krew floated over to Jax and Daxter as they entered the Hip Hog. "Racing is the biggest sport in the city! Erol is the undisputed grand champion. He's crazy and dangerous on the track. Haha. My kind of guy. Only a fool would dare race against him, 'ey! And that's where you two come in. A client of mine is looking for a fast driver for her racing team." He tossed an object to the green-and-blonde elf. "Here's a security pass to get you into the stadium section." The fat man then gave them a piece of parchment which Daxter snatched out of his grubby hands, "Uh, and your contract, with just a few trifles for me. I've ah, already signed your name to save time, mmmmmnn." The Ottsel immediately began reading the document.

"We the racers hereby agree to give Krew all proceeds from race earnings, endorsement fees, broadcast royalties, syndications residuals, vehicle sponsorships, mall appearance fees, collectible card assets, fast-food tie-ins, use of likeness rights, talk show deals, clothing lines, all print rights including book, novella, comic, pamphlet, tickertape, neon sign and bathroom graffiti designs..." Jak watched his furry friend read non-stop and with out breathing, the elf began to get dizzy as Daxter continued to read off the list.

"Toy rights, shoe lines, mood rings, game rights, " the Ottsel paused for a moment, "GAME RIGHTS!?! Vitamin endorsements, city kickbacks, movie deals, and of course, all death and dismemberment accident insurance claims."

"Heh heh heh... we can work out the tiny details later," Krew laughed nervously, "If you can get from here to the Race Garage near the stadium in less than 3 minutes, my client said that she would consider letting you drive for her team. Make me proud, mmmm!" Jak shook off his dizzyness and let a devillish grin spread across his face at the thought of another challange. The nineteen year old immediately left the bar to hijack a nice little zoomer, as soon as he sat in the seat of the vehicle, the communicator in his bag began to float around him with a clock ticking down from three minutes.

"Hang on, Dax," he said to his furry friend as he sped off, navigating expertly through the city.

**-**

Jak leapt off of the zoomer, barely making it to the garage in time, and ran inside to hide from the Guards. He looked outside carefully to see if any of the red armor-clad idiots had seen him. Daxter let out a sigh as the alarms died down.

"Way to cut it close there, buddy," the Ottsel commented.

"Damn Guard," Jak cursed, "I didn't run him over, he **_leapt_** into my way!" Daxter just shook his head. The two turned and head to the almost empty garage.

"Ah... hello? Krew said someone was looking for a race driver?" Jak called out to see if anyone was there.

"I'm busy right now. You must be Krew's new errand boys," the two jumped at the female voice, somehow familiar, that rang out suddenly. They looked to their right and found a green curtain with the silhouette of a curvy woman on it. "Look, I don't mean to be rude, you **_did _**get here fast, but I'm not interested in any new drivers right now, and I've got work to do."

"Is there anything we can do?" The green-and-blonde elf asked, wanting to help.

**_"No!"_** She jumped and then added nervously, "I'm... ah... working on a secret, ah... ah... 'vehicle project'."

"Okay, sorry..." the man was a little mad, he was only trying to help.

"Listen," the silhouetted woman added, feeling a little bad for snapping at him, "if you think you've got the guts to race in this town, try taking my prototype JET-board out on the Stadium Course. Beat the Stadium Challenge, and maybe I'll consider you for my team."

Jak watched the outline of the body move, his thoughts momentarily lost in the depths of the dark eco infested part of his mind. Inside, he struggled to control the beast that was struggling to free itself. The demon inside smirked as it played more heated images of him and Keira in Jak's mind. The man was snapped out of his reverie when Daxter knocked on his head, asking if anyone was home. He immediately left to go to the Stadium, eager to try out this 'JET-board'.

**------**

A beeping sound alerted Keira, who was working diligently on the Rift Rider, she turned to look at a flashing light on a console and raised her eyebrow. _'Hmm, he beat my score,'_ she mused. The young woman shut off the blow torch and took of the black face mask, knowing the man would come back soon. A minute later, she heard a pair of boots coming towards the garage.

"We beat the Stadium Challenge," the man informed. Keira couldn't help but notice the man had a deep, velvety voice and wondered, idly, if the man looked just as delicious as her hormone-driven brain made him to be, but she had to roll her eyes at the tone of cockiness in his voice.

"Great. People do get lucky," she drawled on sarcastically, "Listen, don't you have someone to collect money from, or beat up, or something?"

"You don't like us, do you?" The man on the other side of the curtain asked, offended.

"You work for that slime ball Krew. What's not to like?" Keira growled, but then grinned stupidly, _'Way to be a hypocrite, Keira.'_ She heard the man shuffle over to another part of the garage.

"Looks like you've won a few races," she knew he was looking at all the trophies on her shelf, "isn't it true the city champion gets to tour the palace?"

"Yeah," she replied, _'What's he getting at?'_ "Why?"

"Could you get me into the palace?" The man asked eagerly. _'Oh man, he better not be another Baron-worshipping freak!'_

"A friendly visit I gather," Keira barely surpressed a growl.

"Yeah, I'm a **_real_** fan of the Baron," he ground out. The mechanic immediately lightened up. _'I guess he can't be all that bad. I'll only help, just to get at the Baron!'_ She convinced herself.

"Okay. I'll help you out if you stop bothering me. I saw an old maintenance elevator at the base of one of the Palace support towers. That old lift might take you up to the palace, IF you can find a way to turn on the elevator's power."

**-**

"Keira," the said she-elf jumped as a voice suddenly spoke out of the speaker in her wall, she recognized the voice belonging to Torn. "The Shadow wants you to give the JET-board to our newbies so they can clear Haven Forest of the Metal Heads infesting there." Keira groaned at the thought of lending her hoverboard to some stranger, but if it was going to help the Underground kill some Metal Heads....

"Fine," she sighed, "I'll drop it off there in a few minutes."

"Thanks, Keira," Torn replied gruffly, which was kinder than the thanks he gave to anyone else. Keira grabbed her JET-board off the table and turned to leave the garage but remembered she didn't have a zoomer. Turning slowly, she let a mischevious grin sliip across her pink lips as she spotted Erol's racing zoomer. _'I'm sure the dumbass won't mind if I take it out for a spin,'_ she thought as she settled into the seat, not caring how her skirt rode up dangerously high, _'besides, if I damage it, I can fix it.'_

Keira whooped in a rush of adrenaline and excitement as she sped through the city, barely managing to scrape the sides of the zoomer on the buildings she passed. Reading the speedometer, she noticed that she was no where near the top speed. As much fun as she was having, she wasn't skilled or talented enough to manuver the zoomer at a higher speed. Keira dropped her cargo off at the teleportal leading to the temple and sped back to the garage.

**------**

"We destroyed the Metal Heads in Haven Forest," Jak said as he entered the garage again. Keira rolled her eyes as she heard the man on the other side of the curtain, she picked up a tool sitting on the table and began to tighten a bolt on the RIft Rider.

"Great. I'll send you a medal," was the was the mechanic woman's snarky reply. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm on a deadline, so scram." Jak growled, fed up with the woman's attempts to throw them out.

"Are you always this difficult?" He snapped and moved to move the green curtain but Daxter stopped him and leapt off his shoulder.

"Let me handle this, Jak," the Ottsel said to his friend, speaking to the silhouetee for the first time, "listen lady, we beat your stupid course, and we can outrace anybody in this city." Keira gasped from behind the curtain and looked up from her work.

"Wait, that voice..." she whispered to herself.

"And there's just two things you need to know," the orange ball of fur continued, "one, we don't want to join your stinking race team, and two... you just lost a date with Orange Lightning. Let's go Jak." Keira nearly squealed as she stuck her head out of the curtain.

"Daxter, it **_IS_** you!" She jumped out and embraced the Ottsel.

"Keira!?" Daxter yelped in surprise.

"Oh I never thought I'd be so glad to see your furry mug!" Keira let Daxter down and turned to face the man, "And Jak! You look... different."

"It's been a tough ride," he replied as the two elves eyed eacother in hidden appreciation.

Keira looked at the once innocent boy she knew back in Sandover Village and felt the heat of arousal pool at her core. She eyed his muscled and toned body hidden beneath a form-fitting, blue tunic with a large ring belt, like the one on her left hip, strapped across his broad, firm chest, holding up the bag on his back with the JET-board attatched to it. He had on a pair of brown pants and brown-leather combat boots, there was a metal shoulder guard on his left shoulder and he had black gauntlets and fingerless gloves on. She noticed a Morph gun, one much like hers, in a holster on his back. Jak still had his old goggles on his forehead but they now had a red cloth attatched to it, winding around his neck and falling behind him, like a sort of cape. When she studied his face, Keira had to bite back a moan of arousal. His green and blonde hair had grown longer and it was slicked back, she spotted the little goatee growing on his chin which she found increadibly sexy on his now chisled and harden features. The younger she-elf looked into his deep blue eyes and nearly gasped when she saw a bight flame of rage, much like her own, and a spark of what looked like dark eco, she could sense something else, something darker and it pulled her towards it, igniting dark fantasies every woman hid deep in the recesses of their minds.

Jak eyed the young woman in front of him, to the older man, she had grown into a rare beauty and he had to will his body, with much difficulty, not to react. He looked appreciatively at her choice of clothing, she still had her goggles around her neck and a black, spiked choker. His eyes swept over the small, white tube top covered by a short, black vest with navy blue lining and two midnight-blue buckles on each side. His gaze slipped past her flat, toned stomach to her familiar, old belt with the straps that slipped over her small shoulders. She wore a ring-belt, like the one strapped to his chest, on her left hip, securing a pouch on the opposite hip. Jak supressed a moan when he eyed the black mini-skirt with navy blue lining and intricate blue and green stitched designs, there were two slits halfway up the skirt on each side, showing off her smooth, tan legs before they were covered up by the knee-high, black leather combat boots linded in nave blue and dark green. She had black gauntlets and black fiingerless gloves with a light blue cloth-bindings wrapping under it and going up to her elbows, on her right shoulder was her own silver, metal shoulder guard. Jak gazed up to her matured face, no longer chubby with baby fat, his eyes lingered on her rosy pink lips then moved up to her beautiful, emerald green eyes which were filled with a deep pain, anger, and.....lust? Jak was straining to keep Dark Jak locked away.

"The Baron pumped our boy here with Dark Eco, and it did something to him. Now he's got super moves or something, and a few anger issues as well!" Daxter broke the two out of their heated staring contest. Keira looked to the orange rodent, _'That explains the dark eco spark I saw.'_

"I've been looking for you guys forever and planning a way for us to get back home," she exlaimed, trying to ignore the heat between her legs, "somehow that rift took us far into the future. I've calculated the time displacement-"

"-We found your father..." Jak interrupted as he nervously scratched the back of his head, "well, sort of." He frowned at the memory of meeting the Sage of Green Eco, the old man seemed to have forgotten about them, like he had amnesia or something.

"Working with the Underground fighting the Baron. But he's ahh..." Daxter trailed off.

"What!?!" Keira turned to the Ottsel in concern, afraid that something had to her father.

"You need to go see him," Jak said grimly, "and I need to get to the Baron."

"You could try to win the Class One Racing Championship, the winner of that big race always gets to meet the Baron in the Palace," Keira suggested, "but you have to qualify by winning the lower class races. There's a Class Three race starting soon, you can drive for my team. But Jak, we should think about getting you out of here, I don't like this place and some of the people are creepy." Just as the words fell from her lips, a large, bloated figure floated into the garage.

"Jak, my boy, I need that Ruby Key you found, 'ey," Krew hovered over Jak, "a 'special client' has requested it."

"Sorry about that, Krew," the green-and-blonde haired elf retrieved a ruby and gold key from the pack on his back and tossed it to the fat man, "heh heh... I must've forgotten."

"Right," Krew tightened his grubby fingers around the ruby, a malicious smirk spreading across his ugly mug, "and Keira, my pet...tommorow's Saturday, Tess is going to need help running the bar." The blob left the garage and Keira turned to the dark and handsome hero next to her.

"I've seen that look on that fat fuck's face," she growled, surprising the two boys next to her with her less-than-appropriate language and hatred dircected towards the fat elf, "Krew's up to something, something big..." Jak nodded in agreement but then shook his head and shot Keira a curious glare.

"What did he mean 'Tess is going to need help running the bar'?" He shot her a look that clearly said 'You-better-tell-me-cuz'-I'm-not-let-up-until-you-give-me-an-answer'. The she-elf stared at him like a deer in the headlights.

"Uhh....I-uh...that's-erm..." Keira shifted nervously under Jak's intense glare, "...er-it's not important, right now, you have to get to the Stadium to enter that race." She quickly ushered him out of the garage.

"Keira..." Jak growled.

"Not right now," Keira pleaded, depression beginning to settle in her green eyes as the man stared into them, "Jak, please...." His eyes softened and he turned to exit the garage.

"After the race then," he said, a tone of finality in his velvety voice, and headed off to the Stadium.

**------**

**A/N:** Ah jeez, I fell asleep while I was writing this, lol. I would've finished yesterday if I hadn't. I was exhausted from trying to find glasses, I hate picking out new glassess, just like Pilz-E and Germaine from illwillpress....

GERMAINE: JEEZ, I HATE LOOKING FOR NEW GLASSES. IT'S LIKE TRYING TO PICK OUT A WHOLE

NEW FACE....

PILZ-E: OH, YEAH WITH THE NEW FACES GONE CHANGED AND THE EYES OF THE DEAD MAN SEE

THROUGH YOUR HEAD OF LIES IN THE APENDAGE OF A NEW BRAIN CASE.

Riiight....well, anyway, please review!!! It would be much appreciated! Thank you much!


	5. I Have Two Daddies!

**A/N:** Here it is! Chapter four. A lot of the scenes are from the game, some modified a bit to fit my story. I hope you guys like it. The song 'Figured You Out' doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Nickleback, so don't sue me! (Sid the Sloth: Don't SPEAR me!!)

**Summary:** The first race, a night at the Hip Hog, and the finding of the Old Samos!

**Pairings:** JakxKeira, TornxAshelin, DaxterxTess

_**Special Thanks To:**_

**Jynxie-07: **Thanks, I thought it'd be fun to write about a trigger-happy, angry, and violent Keira, and to write a different kind of angle on Dark Jak.

**hersheykisses:** Garsh, I love reading your reviews! They make me all fuzzy and warm inside, lol. You don't even have to ask me to update cuz I'll do it anyway!

**SilverHawk 27:** If you like to see Erol suffer, just wait until the next chapter....heh heh heh....(starts to laugh maniacally)

**Light-Eco-Sage: **Thanks, I just want to say, I like reading your stories! They're great!

**GH2:** Here's the update! Thanks for reviewing!

**Jak2 Head: **Thanx! I hope you like this chapter!

**J-Kwon and Thet:** Thank you very much!!!

**ChibiSess:** LoL, I hope you don't get caught, cuz getting caught is always bad...I should know....lol.

**AL:** Geeheehee! Thanks for reviewing and I'll try to keep updating regularly!

**- - - - - -_ Previously on Darker Still_ - - - - - -**

_"Right," Krew tightened his grubby fingers around the ruby, a malicious smirk spreading across his ugly mug, "and Keira, my pet...tommorow's Saturday, Tess is going to need help running the bar." The blob left the garage and Keira turned to the dark and handsome hero next to her._

_"I've seen that look on that fat fuck's face," she growled, surprising the two boys next to her with her less-than-appropriate language and hatred dircected towards the fat elf, "Krew's up to something, something big..." Jak nodded in agreement but then shook his head and shot Keira a curious glare._

_"What did he mean 'Tess is going to need help running the bar'?" He shot her a look that clearly said 'You-better-tell-me-cuz'-I'm-not-let-up-until-you-give-me-an-answer'. The she-elf stared at him like a deer in the headlights._

_"Uhh....I-uh...that's-erm..." Keira shifted nervously under Jak's intense glare, "...er-it's not important, right now, you have to get to the Stadium to enter that race." She quickly ushered him out of the garage._

_"Keira..." Jak growled._

_"Not right now," Keira pleaded, depression beginning to settle in her green eyes as the man stared into them, "Jak, please...." His eyes softened and he turned to exit the garage._

_"After the race then," he said, a tone of finality in his velvety voice, and headed off to the Stadium._

**- - - - - - _And the Story Continues...._ - - - - - -**

**Darker Still  
**by Ashelin Rayne

**Chapter Four  
**_I Have Two Daddies!_

"Fuck!" Jak cursed, glaring at the racer to his left who was smirking evilly as he pushed him into the wall. He finally managed to escape from getting pinned in between the wall and the idiotic driver and pushed on the throttle, speeding up and putting some distance between him and the other racers. He zoomed past the finish line and Daxter look behind him.

"One more lap to go, Jak!" The Ottsel on his shoulder yelled over the roar of the engine, "Speed it up, buddy! They're catching up!" The blonde-and-green haired driver growled when he heard him. They lurched forward suddenly when something rammed into them from behind, Jak spared a quick glance behind him and let out an even louder growl, it was the man who was pushing him into the wall.

"Uhhh....Jak," Daxter tugged at the red cloth that was now over his nose and mouth.

"I see it Dax," Jak looked ahead to the long turn around a large pit and the racer behind him was going to push him in, with now worried blue eyes, he spotted the race track on the other side of the pit. He began to speed up.

"Jak!? What are you doing!?!" The rodent watched wide eyed as they were speeding headlong into the bottomless pit, "JAK!?!?"

"Hang on, Dax!" Jak felt the fur ball clutch tightly to his arm and shoulder as he jumped, the elf hit the boost at the right moment and they soared over the pit and onto the race track, gaining the lead once again. He grinned when he didn't hear the other racers' engines, meaning that they were far ahead of them. Jak easily made it across the finish line, earning the gold cup. Daxter did a little victory dance in front of the other racers who just scowled at the orange Ottsel. The green-and-blonde haired elf remembered the comment Krew made to Keira, remembered the look of sorrow in her beautiful, emerald eyes and immediately headed off to the garage.

"Jak?" Daxter called after his best friend, "Wait up!"

_'Why the hell did she look so sad!?'_ Jak thought to himself, _'What the hell happened to her during the last two years!? If something happened to her....'_ He stopped walking when he noticed he was already at the garage, he found Keira sitting on one of the metal work tables....with her skirt riding....**_dangerously_** high, he felt Dark Jak stir. _'Not now!'_ Jak barked to his dark counterpart, _'Something happened to Keira and I _**need**_ to find out what!'_ He tried to reason with the demon, but it only focused on the she-elf, looking so delicious as she sat on the table. Jak snapped. _'She might've been _**hurt** The demon immediately stopped fighting and for the first tiime in the Eco channeler's life, he felt **_fear_** leaking from Dark Jak.

"When is this city gonna provide some challenge, huh?" Daxter said cockily, but Jak ignored him and turned to Keira.

"Keira..."

"Hey," a female voice from behind interrupted him, they all turned to see the familiar red head, Ashelin, "I watched you race today, you were amazing." The Baron's daughter complimented while placing a hand on his arm. Keira fumed to herself inside, her jealousy making her forget that the older she-elf was her friend.

"Oh, thanks..." Jak slowly took his arm away from her hand. He felt Dark Jak suddenly lash out at him in anger, _'What the hell did I do?'_ The elf snapped his head in the direction of the younger she-elf, seeing murderous sparks emmiting from her eyes which made Dark Jak growl in arousal and pride, "ah...Keira, ah...this is Ashelin. She's just..."

"I know who she is," Keira said coldly.

"And Keira's a..."

"A friend. A very **_good_** friend...." the blue-and-green haired girl cut him off. Ashelin recognized the look Keira was giving her, it was the same look she gave to any woman who began to get a little too close for comfort with Torn. It was also the same look she saw Keira give to the Metal Heads just before she shot them to death. The red head inwardly gulped and tried to make a hasty retreat just as a few Krimzon Guards ran past the garage.

"By the way, they're hunting for you," Ashelin quickly put up the 'Baron's Daughter' act and turned to leave, "I'd watch out for Erol, I can't protect you from him." At the mention of Erol, she saw her friend visibly stiffen in fear, knowing Keira like she did, she knew she was never afraid of that pompus idiot and made a note to herself to ask the girl later. Ashelin wasn't the only one to notice the involuntary stiffen of fear, Dark Jak growled when he sensed and smelled fear rolling off of the girl in gigantic waves.

"Keira..."

"Whew, she's a betty!" This time it was Daxter that interrupted, "And she likes you Jak, not that I can account for her tastes. I bet you'd love to pin some medals on her chest, huh?" Jak and Dark Jak watched as Keira was shaken out of her frozen state by the Ottsel's words, the fear being replaced by unmistakable rage, they both growled dangerously at the fuzzy rodent when the girl got up and walked away.

"What? What'd I say?" Daxter then turned to the elf accusingly, "What did you say, Jak?" Jak restrained himself and Dark Jak from smaking the Ottsel upside the head and was about to go after Keira when the communicator flew out of his bag.

"Jak, get to Onin's tent!" It was the Samos that suffered from amnesia calling him, he sighed and cursed whoever was up there that kept getting people to interrupt him before he could talk to Keira.

"Fine," he growled and grabbed the rodent by the scruff of his neck, placing Daxter on his shoulder, he set off towards the old soothsayer's hut.

**-**

Keira sighed, it was a Saturday night and she was sitting behind the bar with Tess, waiting for the sleezy customers to start coming in. When the door slid open they, however, did not expect a female to walk in, Tess and Keira smiled when they saw Ashelin entered. The red head looked around the place, as if looking for something.

"Krew's not here tonight, Ash," Keira said, "he left me in charge." The Baron's daughter immediately relaxed and headed over to the other two females, as soon as she sat down, the blue-and-green haired bartender spoke." Listen, about yesterday..."

"Don't worry about it, I _completely _understand," Ashelin smiled, "I would've reacted in the same way if it were...ahhh, I mean if I were in your place." The KG woman looked around nervously. Tess grinned at her mischieviously.

"You mean if it were**_ Torn_**," the blonde laughed when the red head's face flushed. Keira continued their childish teasing.

"Oh, Torn! Oh I love you, Torn!" Tess was laughing hysterically by now and Ashelin's face was the color of the Krimzon Guards' armor. "Torn! Oh Torny, baby! I want to marry you and have all your children!! Oh Torn, I love-"

"What the hell?!?" Torn exclaimed as he and an extremely pissed looking Jak walked through the door. Keira sceamed in surprise and fell over, making Tess and Ashelin double over in laughter. Blue and green hair, followed by long pointy ears and sparkling emerald-green eyes peered over the bar.

"Uhh...hi Torn," Keira chuckled nervously. The blonde and red headed she-elves paused their laughing and looked at eachother for a moment, then promptly busted up laughing again.

"Keira...." Torn growled at the girl behind the bar.

"Me n' the girls were just...umm....having fun and..erm...joking around," she felt her face heat up in embarassment. Keira watched as Jak silently fumed behind the auburn-haired elf. _'He couldn't possibly be jealous, could he?'_ She watched as Jak's lip curled up, revealing a glistening fang, _'He doesn't think that I love Torn, well I do love Torn but only as a _**brother**_, any other way would just be disturbing...'_

"Relax, Torn," Ashelin spoke up as she was wiping the tears from her eyes, "we were just joking around." The red head decided to come to her friend's rescue when she saw how mad Jak was getting, and she knew it wouldn't be good if they had an angry Jak running around, transforming into a monster and going on a killing spree. Besides, he was looking at Torn as if he were going to shoot him with his morph gun, and the red head couldn't have **_that_** happening. She sighed in relief when Jak stopped growling and settled on wearing a scowl.

"What the _hell _were you three joking about?" Torn asked, curious as to why Keira was mock-proclaiming her love for him. At his question, Ashelin turned bright red again. Keira thought up an excuse.

"Ahh...odd couples, we were talking about odd-but-perfect couples," she blurted out, then grinned evilly, "eh heh heh, that was my rendition of Krew proclaiming his love for you." The three she-elves busted up laughing at Torn's expression on his pale face.

"AGH!! That's **_DISGUSTING!!!!"_** He screamed, "Why the **_HELL_** did you tell me that!?!"

"You asked," Tess giggled. Their laughing was cut off when Keira spoke up.

"Tess, game faces on," she motioned towards the men that had begun entering the entrance of the bar. "Ash, you might want head out now before anymore of em' start coming in."

"As much as I would love to leave this stinkin' rat hole, I don't wanna leave you two with all this filth," Ashelin frowned but got up, "but I think you'll lose some customers if they see the daughter of Baron Praxis here. Oh, and Keira, I need to ask you something about Erol later." She saw the girl visibly stiffen again.

"Okay."

"We'll see you later, babe," Tess smirked at the KG woman. Ashelin just laughed and waved at them before she exited, followed closely by Torn.

"Why did Ashelin have to leave?" Jak asked as he watched them converse in confusion.

"Well, we wouldn't want her here when we're working, I don't think she'd be comfortable," the blonde she-elf answered, "besides, she'd probably kill a few people by the end of the night."

"What the hell does that mean?" He raised a green eyebrow.

"That and it's bad for business," Keira continued, completely ignoring the man's question, "you know how it is, sleezy bars and Krimzon Guards just don't mix."

"And why the hell are **_you_** working **_here_**, Keira?" Jak growled as he watched some of the men look towards hers with perverted glints in their eyes.

"Sorry, can't talk at the moment," she avoided his gaze as she walked towards a person sitting down on a stool, "I gotta take this guy's orders." She moved over to a brown haired elf at the other end of the bar. He watched as she asked him what he wanted and after a brief moment, began taking out bottles and expertly mixing them into a tall cup. Jak sighed and slid into a booth in a dark corner, watching the she-elf work from a distance. He could feel Dark Jak trying claw his way out everytime a man began to flirt with Keira, sometimes Jak really, **_really_**, wanted to just give in to the demon but he knew he couldn't.

"Hey, Chilli Pepper," Sig appeared out of nowhere and slid into the seat across from the younger elf.

"Hey, Sig," Jak grinned slightly, "what brings you here to this **_fine_** nightclub."

"My friend wanted me to be here," he chuckled at his friend's sarcasm, "as a sort of 'bodyguard' if things get out of control."

"What do you mean by tha-"

"Hey, Sig," Jak was cut off by Keira who had came over to their booth, "what can I get for you tonight? Or do you want your usual? How about the lovely head of the Metal Head leader served on a nice little platter? Don't choose the latter because it's not avaliable at the moment." The dark skinned elf let out a laugh.

"I'll have the usual," he grinned.

"What about you, Jak?" She turned to the green-and-blonde haired elf.

"You two Cherries know each other?" Sig raised an eyebrow and Keira rolled her eyes.

"Sig, Sig, little Delivery Boy Sig...I'll never understand you and your obession with food," she grinned teasingly, "Cherries, Chilli Peppers, what's next? Brussels sprouts?"

"Shut up and get me my damn drink, Kid," the Wastelander growled, Keira smirked and ignored him as she turned back to Jak.

"How do you two know each other?" The handsome elf asked.

"It's a long story," she saw that he was about to ask another question but she cut him off before he spoke, "I'll tell you after the Baron's ass is six feet under, right now, I need your order." Jak frowned.

"I'll have whatever's good," he sighed.

"Okay, I'll make you my special, be back in a flash," Keira smiled and went back to the bar to fix their drinks.

"Hhmph," Sig snorted with a grin, "I shouldn't be surprised that you two know eachother, you two act a lot alike. You both 're cocky, you both want to slice the Baron up into a million little pieces, but then again who doesn't.....you both have anger issues, you both 're trigger happy...."

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute...Trigger happy? Keira?" Jak looked towards the girl at the bar.

"Put a gun in that girl's hands and presto, you've got yourself a deadly weapon," he chuckled, " 'specially when she's pissed. Hell, I remember the last time some guy pissed her off, it was last year, and I took her out to a small Metal Head nest in my Gilla Stomper with her at the gun turret. Whoo boy, let me tell ya', when we left that nest, I swore I saw the surviving Metal Heads, big ones too, running for the hills and you and I both know Metal Heads **_never _**run away."

"I can't picture Keira with a gun," Jak said thoughtfully as he watched the said she-elf began to walk towards them but raised an eyebrow when she stopped suddenly. He watched her turn to look at a man that sat in a chair to her left and Jak nearly lost it when he saw the man groping her backside. He was ready to leap out of his seat to attack the man but Sig stopped him, Jak glared at the armo-clad elf.

"I know, I don't like it either," he said sternly, "but this is part of Keira's job and as much as I hate having to just sit here and watch it, that's what we have to do. But that's why she asked me to come tonight, I'm here to help her and Tess out if things get too rough."

"Why the fuck is she even working at a place like this!?" Jak snapped as he sat back down, using most of his will to keep himself from letting Dark Jak out and ripping the man to shreds.

"I don't know," Sig sighed heavily, "all I know is that Krew helped her out when something bad happened to her and she owes him." The green-and-blonde haired elf just glared at the man who had groped Keira as she approached their booth.

"Hey guys," she smiled but Jak could see anger and hatred burning in her eyes, most likely directed towards the man she encountered, "here are you drinks." She handed a large mug of frothy, amber liquid to Sig and a tall glass filled with a turquois liquid to Jak.

"I probably shouldn't be giving you this, Jak," Keira chuckled, "you're not twenty-one yet." Jak took a gulp of the drink, as soon as the liquid poured down his throat he began to cough, not expecting the substance to burn. Sig laughed as he patted the elf's back from across the table.

"What is that?" He wheezed and noticed the after taste in his mouth was pleasant, it was bubbly and a little fruity.

"Something I threw together," Keira smiled, "it's like whiskey, except it tastes better."

"Hey, Chilli Pepper," Sig turned to Jak who was still coughing a bit, "I don't see your furry friend anywhere, where is he?"

"Daxter?" The man smirked, "Oh, him and Pecker got into another fight and they knocked each other out, they won't be up for a while."

"Trust Daxter to do something like that," Keira rolled her eyes as she thought about the orange Ottsel.

"Keira!" Tess called out to her from the bar, "The guys want you to dance now!"

"Dance?" Jak looked up at the she-elf questioningly.

"Yeah..." Keira backed away slowly, "the customers always request a dance whenever I come back to work here...so I-uh...gotta go dance..." She quickly turned and headed towards the bar before the elf could say anything else.

"Whatever you do, Kid," Sig warned Jak as the bar went quiet to watch the blue-and-green haired she-elf perform, "don't get angry and start a scene." Before Jak could say anything, Keira had jumped onto the bar as the music began.

**_I like your pants around your feet  
And I like the dirt that's on your knees  
And I like the way you still say please  
While you're looking up at me  
You're like my favourite damn disease_**

Keira could feel ginormous Metal Head butterflies swarming her stomach, threatening to eat her alive. She hadn't felt this way while she was dancing since the first few times she had done it, _'So why am I feeling like this?'_ But the she-elf knew the answer to that question. _'Because _**Jak**_ is here.'_ She nervously glanced over to the corner where the said elf was sitting and found his heated gaze on her, or more specifically on her swaying hips. The freakishly gigantic butterflies seemed to disperse and was quickly replaced by a bubble of heat. _'Ah damn,'_ she moaned, getting aroused by the heated look Jak was giving her, _'okay, just breath, dance and breath...'_

_**And I love the places that we go  
And I love the people that you know  
And I love the way you can't say no  
Too many long lines in a row  
I love the powder on your nose**_

Jak couldn't tear his eyes away from her luscious body and he was glad Sig had left just as Keira started dancing to sit at the other corner booth to his left to keep an eye on a group of young and rowdy men or he probably would've laughed at his reaction to the girl. He watched as one of his dark counterpart's fantasies were being played in real life right in front of his eyes and no matter how hard he protested, he felt himself harden as he was hypnotized by her swaying hips. He saw her look nervously over at him and Dark Jak, with his heightened senses, could smell her spicy arousal which only made him moan in frustration. Jak restrained himself from jumping over to her and taking her right there on the bar.

_**And now I know who you are  
It wasn't that hard, just to figure you out  
(Now I did, you wonder why)  
And now I know who you are  
It wasn't that hard, just to figure you out  
(Now I did, you wonder why)**_

_'Oh Mar, can't he just stop looking at me for a second!'_ Keira moaned as she danced her way over to a pole Krew had installed a short while ago on the bar, _'I think I'm going to melt!'_ She hooked a leg around the pole and swung around on it, moaning in frustration when she felt the cool metal rub against her core. Keira continued to dance around the pole as she once again looked over to the corner booth that Jak sat at. Keira saw his blue eyes darken to an almost black shade while dark eco, once again sparked in them. She felt some dark force calling to her once again.

_**I like the freckles on your chest  
And I like the way you like me best  
And I like the way you're not impressed  
While you put me to the test  
I like the white stains on your dress**_

**'Let me take her...'** Dark Jak growled but Jak refused him. '**_Oh my God...'_** they both moaned when Keira began to dance on the pole, he shifted to fix his painfully hardened member. He couldn't take it when he smelled her arousal spike sinfully as she grinded on the pole that he was currently envious of. Jak felt himself transform but stopped halfway, _'That's as far as you're going to get.'_ He groaned. **'Fine,'** Dark Jak growled, content with their compromise. Jak felt elongated fangs in his mouth, sharp claws on his hands, and small horns, barely noticable on his head. His skin was a paler tan and his hair was a shade lighter.

_**And I love the way you pass the check  
And I love the good times that you wreck  
And I love your lack of self-respect  
While you passed out on the deck  
I love my hands around your neck**_

_'What the hell?'_ Keira watched as Jak's skin began to pale, his hair was lightened, and she swore she could see horns on his head. She saw fangs hanging over his lip and she couldn't, for the life of her, help being aroused even more. Keira watched him shift uncomfortably, she raised an eyebrow as he tried to, inconspicuously, adjust something near his crotch. Suddenly, it hit her. How could she be so naive? He was aroused, _extremely so_ it seemed, and **_she_** had caused it. A mishchievous plan began to form in her hormone driven mind and a devillish smirk made its way across her pink lips.

_**And now I know who you are  
It wasn't that hard, just to figure you out  
(Now I did, you wonder why)  
And now I know who you are  
It wasn't that hard, just to figure you out  
(Now I did, you wonder why)  
(Why not before, you never tried)  
(Gone for good, and this is it)**_

Jak/Dark Jak gripped the table hard when they saw her smirk, both agreed when they thought that must've been the sexiest smirk they had ever seen in their entire life. Jak's eyes widened when Keira began to grind sensually the pole as she kept her emerald green eyes locked with his blue-turned-black eyes and he felt part of the table that was gripped in his hand snap off, collapsing under his death grip. Keira bit her finger innocently as she spun around the pole, then winked in his direction. _'She's messing with me!'_ Jak realized. **'That has got to be one of the most arousing things I've ever seen,'** Dark Jak moaned. Then Tess joined Keira on the bar and they began to dance together. **'I spoke too soon.'**

_**I like your pants around your feet  
And I like the dirt that's on your knees  
And I like the way you still say please  
While you're looking up at me  
You're like my favourite damn disease**_

Keira and Tess jumped off the bar and went to find a man to lap dance on, something Krew suggested to keep customers coming. She watched as the blonde she-elf found a good-looking, red haired elf while she made her way over to Jak, hips swaying to the music. She stalked towards him like a predator would stalk its prey and when she reached him she took his hand and pulled him out of the booth, _'It would be hard to give him a lap dance if he was sitting in a booth,'_ Keira grinned deviously. Placing a small hand on his broad chest, she slowly pushed him down on to a nearby chair and danced playfully around him, keeping her hands on his body at all times.

_**And I hate the places that we go  
And I hate the people that you know  
And I hate the way you can't say no  
Too many long lines in a row  
I hate the powder on your nose**_

Jak's arousal strained painfully in the confines of his pants, everyone could see it if they chose to look but at the moment, he **_really_** didn't give a damn. Keira's hands glided all over his upper body, they grazed across his rock hard chest and bulging biceps as she circled him like a hawk. He gasped when she licked the rim of his left ear playfully and he shuddered in pleasure. Keira stood in front of him and bent over so she was eye level with him, her hands resting on his knees. Jak began to pant when her small hands began to slide up towards his hardened member as she leaned forward to nip at his neck. He groaned when she pulled away but stopped when she sat face foward on his lap, grinding his erection **_agonizingly_** slow.

_**And now I know who you are  
It wasn't that hard, just to figure you out  
(Now I did, you wonder why)  
**_

_'Great Googily Moogily!'_ Keira gasped as she grinded into him, _'Oh Mar, he's fuckin' _**huge** She cried out in pleasure when Jak bucked his hips further into hers, wanting...needing more contact. She panted as she slipped an arm around his back and the other around his shoulder while her hand held onto the back of his head. Keira felt his lips find her neck and he began to nip and suck at it, she knew he'd leave a mark but didn't care. She cried out again as he pulled her on his arousal, she felt a part of his tip enter her core, even with their clothes on. Keira knew the song was ending soon and she had to stop so she started to pull away but found that she couldn't when Jak's arms snaked around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Suddenly and very unexpectedly, an orgasam swept through her body when she felt fangs piercing her neck. She cried out and fell forward, draping her upper body onto his. Jak had stopped grinding himself into her and concentrated on caressing the area around his fangs, which were still in her neck, with his hot, velvety tongue.

_**And now I know who you are  
It wasn't that hard, just to figure you out  
(Now I did, you wonder why)  
(Why not before, you never tried)  
(Gone for good, and this is it)  
**_

_'What the _**fuck**_ did we just do!?'_ Jak screamed at his dark counterpart. **'Oh nothing bad really,'** Dark Jak smirked, **'made her have an orgasm, marked her as our mate, nothing big...'** Jak was speechless, he honestly had nothing he could think of saying about that. When the song ended he slowly withdrew his fangs and licked the blood from the wound. Keira shifted in his arms and she pushed herself from his neck to look at him in the eye. The two finally noticed the roaring cheers and cat-calls of the customers around the bar and looked around to find everyone watching the two female bartenders dance upon the lucky elves. Keira caught Tess's eye and they both stood up and headed back to the bar. Jak followed and sat at a stool near the blue-and-green haired girl.

"What just happened?" Keira looked to the drop-dead sexy elf sitting in front of her.

"Uhh...." was the intelligent answer from Jak.

"Yeah, that explains a lot," she giggled.

**-**

"Torn!!" Keira glared at the auburn haired elf, "What the fuck were you thinking!? You just told that bastard of a Baron where Mar's tomb was!!" Torn had just told her that he revealed to Baron Praxis the location of the ancient tomb of the great Mar.

"Of all the idiotic things you could've done-" Keira was cut off when the elf muttered something, "What was that?"

"I said Praxis was threatening to kill Ashelin," he grumbled miserably. Her emerald green eyes widened and she hugged the older elf in comfort.

"I'm sorry, Torn," she whispered, "I know she'll be fine, we'll get Jak and then we'll go save her."

"What if the Baron caught Jak by surprise...what if he-"

"Shut up, Torn," Keira said softly, "I know Jak, he's fine too, so stop feeling so down. You did what you had to do to save Ashelin, I'm sure when we go save her, she'll be very, **_very_** grateful. And I'm sure she'd be willing to give you a little **_something_** for saving her life, if ya' know what I mean." She smirked at Torn who was sitting, guilty and miserable, on a large table, trying to lighten the mood in the Underground HQ.

"How did the Baron know we were making a close move to the Stone?" Jak asked as he entered the doors and walked down the steps towards the two embracing elves who quickly leapt apart. The green-and-blonde haired elf looked at them suspiciously.

"It's my fault," Torn sighed, "the Baron threatened to kill Ashelin for spying, his own **_daughter! _**I couldn't risk that...even for the Underground."

"Right! Very good thinking..." Daxter drawled on sarcastically, "except Praxis has the Precursor Stone now, so he can do whatever he wants!"

"Come on guys," Keira pleaded, "Torn had a good reason!"

"There is still a way to get our friends back and maybe the Precursor Stone as well," Torn mused, "I'll find Vin. Go to the fortress, and we'll call you."

"And why should we trust you?!" Jak growled.

"Jak!" Keira gasped but Torn spoke, ignoring her scolding.

"Because you and I both know the Baron would have killed Ashelin!" He growled back.

"But we all know Ashelin is **_fine_** so let's go rescue everyone else already!" Keira grinned, "Come on, we don't have all day!"

"What do you mean 'we'?" Jak raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, don't give me that look Jak," she frowned, "I'm coming with you guys whether you like it or not, and there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop me."

"Keira...." Jak frowned.

"You see this," Keira pointed to her determined face, "this is my 'Resolve Face', it means we are done discussing this." The elf sighed, even Dark Jak knew they had lost the fight."

"Fine."

**-**

"Damn fuckin evil bastards!!" Keira yelled with an evil smirk on her face as she shot, with deadly accuracy, at the Krimzon Guards' that seemed to stream in from the door at the other end of the room. She stomped a foot down onto the large, red buttons on the ground, hearing a click, she jumped off of the platform and onto the bridge, landing next to Jak and Daxter and barely dodging the enemy's fire. The duo, or rather Jak, was holding off the endless stream of armor-clad elves while Keira took care of pressing the four, large buttons all around the room.

"There's one more here, Keira!" Jak pointed to the button on the platform nearest to the door.

"Ah, the joys of button pushing," she muttered as she leapt onto the platform and knocked the Guard standing there over the side. Just as she stopped on the last button in the room, a bullet shot through her arm, making Keira yelp in pain. The furry, orange rodent looked worridly over to the she-elf.

"Is Keira okay, Dax?" Jak asked as he took down four more KG's.

"Argh! You fuck-bags!!" The trigger-happy she-elf cried out as she switched her Morph Gun to Vulcan Mode and squeezed the trigger.

"Uh..." Daxter watched wide-eyed as the young woman took down Guard after Guard, not letting her finger off the trigger until the Vulcan gun ran out of ammo, "I'd say she's just peachy." Keira switched back to Blaster mode and jumped next to Jak and the three made their way into the other room, sighing in relief when the KG finally dispersed. There was a final button and Jak stomped on it.

"Aw man," Keira groaned, "I was supposed to do that, you stole my button, Jak."

"I didn't see your name on it," he grinned but frowned when he saw blood covering her arm and the bullet wound it was gushing out from. He immediately stepped closer to check it and gasped when he discovered the bullet had shot straight through the outer side of her arm. Jak ripped a piece of cloth from the red cape-thing around his neck and tied it around her arm. "You gonna be okay?"

"It's only a flesh wound," she smiled, "I think it's safe to say I'll live." The two elves and Ottsel made their way through the fortress, slipping past a few more KG's and laser automated Gun Turrets, and entered a large room with cells that lined the walls. Jak recognized it as his place of residence for the past two years, he shudder at some of the violent memories. They approached the cells and two of the doors opened, Daxter ran towards the cell that held the familiar blonde she-elf, Tess.

"Hey there sweetheart!" He purred before spewing the normal bullshit from his mouth, "The Metal Head masher has saved the day! Oh, and I let Jak and Keira tag along too." The two said elves just rolled their eyes and ignored the Ottsel, Tess, however, walks out and embraces the tiny animal.

"Oh, my little hero!" She hugged him tightly to her chest. Jak and Keira approached the second door where they saw the Samos with amnesia.

"Daddy?"

"Samos? Are you alright?" Both elves jumped when another, older and annoyed, Samos sprang into view.

"What took you so long? I added six rings to my trunk waiting for you two to get me outta here!" The old Samos floated out of the cell and, after a moment, turned to look at the two in shock, "Great Yakkow horns! What happened to you Jak? And Keira!? What are you wearing!?"

"Wait a minute! You're you! I mean the other you! I mean... you know what I mean," Daxter looked up at Old Samos in confusion.

"Yes, it appears I have an older time twin," Young Samos followed his future self out, then turned to look at him in shock, "great grass grubs. I can't believe what a cranky old log I've become!"

"Two Samos the Sages?!" The Ottsel yelped and hid behind Jak's legs, "Aaack, Jak, they're multiplying!"

"We need to find the kid, pronto!" Old Samos exclaimed.

"What are you talking about, old growth? The kid already opened the tomb," Young Samos scoffed, "our top priority should be to disrupt the Baron's forces! Oh, look who thinks they sprouted."

"If you were half as wise as I am, you'd know that the proper cause of action is to find the kid!" Old Samos growled.

"Listen, you old dried up leaf," Young Samos glared at his older counterpart, "I run this outfit, and I say we go after the Baron's forces."

"Do we have to separate you two?" Daxter sighed as he stepped in between the warring sages.

"Vin's activating the Warp Gate," Jak interrupted, "we need to get out of here now!" Everyone nodded and headed towards the Warp Gate and, one by one, jumped through. When they fell through to the other side, the group seperated and went their own ways. Tess left to got to Underground HQ, the two sages headed to Onin's tent, and Jak, Daxter, and Keira made their way to the Hip Hog.

"Two fathers," Keira breathed, "jeez, I don't think I can take anymore surprises."

"I don't think I can take anymore Samos's" Daxter grumbled. Jak found an abandoned zoomer and hotwired it, he hopped onto the single seat and slid forward to make room for the she-elf. Keira swung her leg over the zoomer and made herself comfortable behind the elf, not even thinking twice about how high her skirt would ride up as she hugged her body closer to his. Jak, however, did notice, he also noticed the curves of her body as she pressed herself onto his back and he had to stifle a moan.

_'Oh boy, this is going to be a _**long**_ ride.'_

**- - - - - -**

**A/N:** Okay, got that done. Next chapter, the second and (unofficial) third races comin' up, major drama with Erol too. Ah, joys, the joys. Oh crap, I gotta go back to school in two days.....sooo looking forward to that.....well, hope you liked this chapter and I hope you'll review. Till next time!

-Ash


	6. More Trouble Than Erol's Worth

**A/N: **AHH!!! I have school so this update was a tiny bit late, I hope you guys enjoy. Have fun reading! Reading empowers the mind!! Power to the people!!! Yeah....just ignore that....

**Chapter Summary:** Yay! The demise of Erol!!

**Pairings:** JK, TA, DTess

_**To Those Who Reviewed, I Thank You Kindly**_

**ChibiSess:** My update rate varies, but yeah....although it might get a little slower now with school starting again....damn you school!!

**PlushXD:** I just started reading through the Jak and Daxter section a couple weeks ago, I didn't find too many JxK stories...so instead of moping around, I wrote my own!! Good idea, ne?

**J-Kwon and Thet:** Thanks. I'm glad you like.

**SilverHawk 27:** Yeah, **_really_** don't like Erol all that much either, but he didn't suffer as much as I wanted him to in this chap...damn....

**Jynxie-07:** Thanks! Oh god, I read that scene to my sister and she was laughing her ass off for....three minutes...I timed her after a minute or two. I like your story 'Her Fake Smiles', it's really funny and you should update it soon!

**Razul Flaris Pyris:** Jak and Keira are slowly getting closer...heh heh....thanks for reviewing!!

**gohan11:** OH MY GOD!!!! I was very disappointed in the third game, in fact, I really didn't like it as much as the first two. I was screaming when they showed the end with Jak and Ashelin....I need to have a talk with the people at Naughty Dog......

**Light-Eco-Sage:** LoL, they'll get there....eventually.

**AL:** Gee hee, thanky thanky.

**hersheykisses:** Ah well, my holidays sucked, but I hope yours was good! Again, I have to thank you for reviewing, it means a lot to me! XD

**Whiskers:** Ha ha, Jak's not a good little boy anymore.....

**shinkudragon:** Thank you! When Keira was a "little angel" (as you put it) in the game, I was all like....'She can't have seriously NOT changed in the past two years!' So this is my version of how she would've turned out.

**Toboe's pup:** Hmm....a room would be very useful to them...lol.

**odoru:** Gah....that third game really, REALLY ticked me off....the whole time I kept asking "Where's Keira!! Where the FUCK is Keira!?!?!" Jeez, you only get to see her like, what? Three times? So gay...SO GAY!!!! Uhh...heh heh...thanks for reviewing.

**- - - - - -**

**Darker Still  
**by Ashelin Rayne

**Chapter Four  
**_More Trouble Than Erol's Worth..._

"Arrg...Who told them they could do that!" Jak seethed as he left the sewers, just getting back from Krew's latest mission. He and Daxter had escorted three of the fat man's lackeys, Jink, Grim, and Mog, through the sewers to retrieve the Heart of Mar gem on one of Mar's large statues. He thought they were just going to climb up and pry it from the statue, bu **_no_**, they went and blew the fucking thing up!

"Jak, let's get back to the Stadium," Daxter spoke up from his shoulder, "the Class Two races are starting soon!" The elf nodded and hopped on a zoomer and sped off towards the garage, eager to see his beautiful, she-elf mechanic. Just the thought of seeing Keira calmed his already frayed nerves. Jak blinked when he found himself already standing outside the racing garage and he quickly walked in to find the she-elf as Daxter leapt off his shoulder, after all, he still hadn't asked about what happened to her to make her so frozen with fear when Ashelin mentioned Erol.

"Well, if it isn't the Dark Eco Freak."

_'Speak of the Devil....'_ Jak growled to himself. "Where's Keira?"

"Don't worry, I'm keeping a close eye on her," there was a malicious glint in Erol's eyes as he smirked, "you're the talk of the town, Jak! You give the people hope... how pathetic. I would have enjoyed killing you in prison, but now, it'll be so much more fun to take you on the track, in front of the entire city. I can hear the roar of the crowd now... as everyone sees their hope die..." Keira entered the garage with her father next to her, smiling as the talked of what they missed in the past two years.

"It's good to have you back, Daddy," the she-elf smiled lovingly at the old elf beside her.

"Yes, it's nice to be free again," Old Samos nodded.

"You know, Keira **_loves_** a winner," Erol leaned in towards Jak as he whispered in his ear, "and **_I'm_** a winner, unlike you, you're just a **_freak_**. She would never want a monster like you. Besides," the Champion racer smirked evilly, "she has already shared her bed with me, Dark Eco Freak, there's no way she'll ever be with you **_now_**."

"Shut the fuck up and stay away from her!" Jak seethed, barely containing the demon inside from taking over and ripping Erol to shreds. The other racer just laughed as he walked away.

"Why was Erol here?" Keira looked at the retreating figure of Erol.

"You should know," Jak snapped, venom lacing his cold voice, "he's **_your_** boyfriend!"

"Jak? What are you talking about?" She asked, completely confused.

**_"Don't lie to me!!"_** The elf roared as Dark Eco sparked from his eyes, his judgment clouded by his own fury.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Keira looked at the elf in front of her, "Tell me what you're talking about! There's gotta be some misunderstanding-"

"**_You're SLEEPING with that bastard!!"_** Jak interrupted her. Keira froze in complete shock and fear as Old Samos turned to his daughter, eyes wide. Even Daxter was shocked speechless. "So you're **_not_** denying it!?" The she-elf shook her self out of her shock and was quickly filled with rage.

"You....you...you **_BASTARD!!"_** Keira screamed, "You don't know what happened so **_shut the fuck up about it!!!"_**

"Whatever," Jak threw his hands up as he stormed towards the exit of the garage, "just don't come crying to me he breaks your heart!"

"Ah, Jak, buddy...heh heh," Daxter called after the elf, "where you going there pal? Jak? Jak!"

"Keira..." Old Samos looked to his daughter, "is this true? Did you...did you really sleep with Erol?" The old elf gazed into Keira's cold, emotionless green orbs.

"Attention all drivers, the Class Two races will begin soon," the intercom announced.

"Daxter," the she-elf called the Ottsel.

"Yeah?" He squeeked, afraid that she might lash out at him.

"You need to drive in Jak's place," her voice cracked when she said the elf's name, "we need this to qualify for the championship."

"How hard can it be? Just hold on tight and point the thingy where I want it to go, right?" Daxter chuckled nervously. "And then there's this other thingy that makes it go fast. Fast is good! I can do this. I'm ready to race!"

_'I can't believe she would DO THAT!!!'_ Jak glared at the ground as he angrily stomped around the city, _' With EROL of all people! That was why she was afraid when Ashelin said his name, she was afraid I would find out about them....Well they can go off and live happily ever after for all I care!'_ The elf violently punched a metal door as he passed. He felt Dark Jak stirring inside of him. _'Not now!'_ He growled.

**'I say we kill Erol and take Keira back,'** it suggested.

_'Back?'_ Jak scoffed, _'We never had her in the first place.'_

**'What about that lap dance she gave us at the Hip Hog?'** Dark Jak grinned as he replayed the images of the night at the bar, **'You can't tell me we didn't have her then.'**

_'That meant nothing,'_ he growled, _'she was just doing her job.'_

**'_I_ don't _care_!'** His counterpart growled back, **'I _want_ Keira and _we_ are going to have her.'**

_'What? You're going to take her against her will?'_ Jak snapped.

**'Please, what kind of animal do you take me for?'** Dark Jak scoffed, **'I'd never do that to Keira, I meant that I was going to kill Erol and make her fall in love with me.'**

_'Whatever,'_ Jak found himself standing outside the Stadium entrance, _'how the hell did I end up here?'_

**'You can thank me later,'** Dark Jak urged him in. Jak moved closer to the race track and gasped when he saw the driver on his racing zoomer.

"Daxter?" It was the last lap and his furry friend was neck-and-neck with the leading racer, he cheered as Daxter cut him off on the final turn and sped past the finish line.

**'Well, what do you know....the rodent did it,'** his counterpart grinned as the two headed back to the garage to congratulate the Ottsel on his big win.

_'What the hell does he know!?'_ Keira furiously rubbed away the tears that made their way down her cheeks, _'He doesn't know what happened!'_ The she-elf stood in her work-out room in her apartment above the garage, she was currently punching a make-shift, metal punching-bag in the middle of the room. Her fingerless gloves lay to the side and her fists were only covered by a long, thin piece of cloth wrapped around her knuckles.

_**Bang!...Bang!...Bang!...Bang!...Bang!**_

The sound of her knuckles hitting the cylindrical piece of metal and her heavy breathing was the only sound in the room, Keira would've bought a _normal_ punching bag but she couldn't find one during her spare time. The she-elf barely felt anything in her hands as they began to get numb from her prolonged punching.

_'Stupid...Jak...and his stupid...accusations!'_ She thought in between punches, her knuckles were beginning to get raw. _'Damn him!...Damn **all** men!'_ Keira unleashed her fury on the now heavily dented piece of metal. She let out a feral roar as she punched it a final time, as she tried to even out her irregular breathing, she noticed blood splashed all over the piece of metal. Keira looked down at her hands and found them cut open and bleeding, some of the cloth hung from her fist, ripped and bloody. There was a beeping on the intercom next to the door, signaling that Daxter was finished with the race and was now in the garage. Without bothering to clean her hands, she made her way down to the garage.

Tess was with the orange Ottsel, placing his trophy on the shelf with the others as he looked into the shining cup, grinning at his reflection. Keira rolled her eyes at Daxter's conceitedness.

"Now there's a handsome winner," he grinned.

"Great job, Dax," Keira smiled at the rodent, "now we're in the championship race."

"Did you ever doubt? I back seat drive for Jak all the time," Daxter turned his gaze to the blonde she-elf next to him, "Hey! When do I get the winner's big kiss?"

"Maybe later... if you're a good boy," Tess cooed as she was petting his head. It was then that the blonde she-elf noticed the bloody bindings hanging from the other she-elf's hands. "Uhh...Keira? Your hands-"

"Daxter!" Jak interrupted as he walked into the garage.

"Hey there, we, ah, showed those Class Two losers a thing or two, huh?" Daxter jumped down to the floor in front of the elf.

"I saw. You drifted a little high in the turns a few times, but, you hung in there!" Jak squatted down to his friend and patted his head, "I'm proud of you, Dax."

"Really?"

"Yeah! You did great!"

"No! **_We_** did great!" Daxter beamed up at Jak, "Right, partner?"

"Come on, Dax," he stood as the Ottsel hopped onto his shoulder, "Samos and....Samos need us at Underground HQ. They called me just before I got here." Jak left without even giving Keira a second glance. Tess looked over to her depressed and angry friend.

"Hey," the blonde placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder, "you alright?"

"No, Tess," Keira looked up at Tess with a big, sad smile and eyes that were drowned in tears, she looked so miserable even though she was smiling and it made tears come to the blonde's eyes, "I'm not."

"Oh here," Tess pulled the younger she-elf into a hug.

"He thinks I'm sleeping with Erol!" Keira cried out as she wrapped her arms around her friends neck, tears dripping onto her shoulder.

"Are you?" The blonde asked timidly.

"No!" Keira began to sob, "It was...only a one time...thing! It-it doesn't even **_count_** as a one time thing!"

"Oh Keira, how does it not count as a one time thing?" Tess stroked the girl's green and blue hair, trying to comfort her.

"_Because,_" the younger she-elf pulled away from the blonde and looked up at her with a broken expression, "I didn't want to do it."

"Oh dear Mar," Tess gasped as tears streamed down her own face, she knew these things had happened to Keira before but the attackers were all faceless to her, but now....now **_knew_** who one of them were.

"Mar, I didn't want to....." Keira looked to the ground where her tears hit the garage floor, "but he....that bastard, he-he **_raped_** me!"

"Erol did **_what!?!"_** The two turned to the entrance and found a very pissed off looking Ashelin. The red head immediately went to her friend and embraced her along with Tess, Keira was now sobbing uncontrollably.

"Oh no, Jak!" Tess cried out, "We have to tell Jak!"

"NO!" The blue-and-green haired elf looked up, "Don't tell him....I need to tell him myself."

"Okay, hon," Ashelin smoothed down Keira's frazzled hair, "we won't."

"Let's get your hands cleaned up," Tess help up her bloody knuckles and the red head gasped.

"You idiot," Ashelin sighed softly as she and the blonde led Keira to her apartment.

**- - - - - -**

Jak stroked his new Peacemaker lovingly as he and Daxter made their way to the Hip Hog, trying to forget all about Keira for the day. As they entered, the Ottsel immediately dashed over to the bar where the blonde bartender worked. The elf followed his furry friend, shaking his head as he continued to flirt with the she-elf who, surprisingly, seemed to return his affections. When he looked at the blonde, however, he was shocked to find her scathing glare upon him.

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"You jerk," Tess growled, "you upset Keira."

"Hey," he glared, "I'm not the one who-"

"Oh, stuff it," she snapped, going into 'Protective Friend' mode, "you don't know what happened so don't go around accusing her of things!"

"Hey! Back to work toots!" Krew interrupted as he flew over head.

"She's working beach ball!" Daxter snapped, "Quit your yappin'."

"Watch it! Or you'll be yet another trophy hung on these walls," the blimp threatened as he motioned towards the numerous trophy heads hanging on the walls. The fat man then turned to Jak, "Jak, I want you to throw the championship race. Just let Erol win..."

"You bet against us!?" He glared.

"Jak, Jak," Krew chuckled, "it's just business." A figure shadowed in the back put his feet up on the table as he watched them.

"You've become a symbol to these townies," he continued, "they'll bet everything on a glimmer of hope. What better time to make money? Waddaya say my boy?"

"I'd say you're going to lose a lot of money," Jak smirked as he turned away, "because I'm going to race and I intend to win."

"Aggh! You little..." The fat man recoiled in anger, "You're becoming more trouble than you're worth! I wouldn't get too comfy, if I was you! Everyone's expendable!" Daxter fainted in fright. The dark figure in the back stood up and made his way to Jak.

"In a hurry to die, boy?" The figure was none other than Erol, "Well, we don't have to wait for the big race! We can do this right now! One on one, through the city, using accelerator rings." Suddenly, Tess screamed and threw an empty bottle at the cocky Krimzon Guard's head.

"You **_disgusting_** little **_maggot!!!"_** She screeched as she glared at Erol, "I ought to kill you right now for what you did to Keira!!!" Jak looked at Tess in surprise. _'What the hell is she talking about?' _**'That little fuck better not have hurt Keira or else...'** Dark Jak growled.

"What ever are you talking about?" Erol's eye twitched.

"You know what I'm talking about, dirtbag," Tess hissed, "she told me and Ashelin what happened.....you sick fuck."

"Keira told you, did she?" The racer growled threateningly, "Well, I'm just going to have to have a little chat with her for disobeying me." He exited the bar and Jak slowly followed with Daxter in tow. The elf and the Ottsel found him waiting outside with two zoomers.

"Hit every ring from start to finish," he said as he hopped onto one of the zoomers, "miss even one ring, and it's over! Keira already thinks you're a loser, and I'll prove it now, once and for all."

"You're on," Jak growled as he hopped on the remaining zoomer and the two immediately sped off.

The green-and-blonde haired elf snarled as he was neck-and-neck with Erol as they passed the eleventh accelerator ring and made their way around the large statue of Mar in the center of a square. The idiotic racer tried ramming him into the wall but Jak pulled ahead before he could, the outlaw smirked back at the now fuming Erol. Through out the rest of the race, Jak stayed a good distance ahead of the other racer and grinned in triumph when he passed the final ring. He spun his zoomer around to watch as Erol angrily pulled up next to him.

"Aggghh! Don't get too cocky, outlaw! Next time we race for keeps! And your head will be my trophy!" He snarled and, being the sore loser that he was, sped off on his zoomer.

"Ahh, blow it out your ear!" Daxter yelled after him, "You were bottle-fed, weren't you?"

**-**

"I'll show you guys what I'm working on, if you promise not to laugh." Jak was back at the garage with Keira and Old Samos to so they could see the 'big surprise' she wanted to show them all. He carefully avoided making eye contact with her, a sign that he was still pissed.

"Ooooo, I love surprises!" Daxter grinned, "And I love to laugh! Show me! Show me!" The she-elf pulled back the green, patched up curtain to reveal a large vehicle.

"I've been building a replica of our crashed Rift Rider machine from old artifacts," she explained when she saw their blank faces.

"That's my girl!" Old Samos cried joyfully as he patter her back.

"But I'm still missing two pieces," Keira sighed.

"Figures," her father pouted.

"Vin says I need an artifact called the 'Time Map' and an old energy gem history books call the 'Heart of Mar'," she said as she pointed to their artifacts depicted on the papers taped on the wall, "and I've looked in every book on Precursor history I can find, but the Rift Ring seems to have vanished!"

"You did all this?" Jak looked at her in amazement before shaking his head and putting on an indifferent expression, "I mean... that's useful."

"Oh, will you two stop moping around and make up already!" Daxter crossed his arms and glared up at his two friends who -so obviously- liked each other.

"I've seen the Heart of Mar! Krew has it!" Jak gasped, "We'll get those two artifacts, Keira."

"Attention all drivers. The Class One Championship race is about to begin." The female voice over the intercom sounded.

"Well, here goes," Jak sighed as he began to head out, "the race of my life..."

"Jak," Keira called out hesitantly, "umm....I just wanted to say...good luck, I know you'll beat Erol." She smiled when he nodded.

"Hey! What about me?! I helped get us here!" Daxter cried indigently.

"Do you wanna drive?" Jak raised an eyebrow at the furry rodent.

"Against that crazy loon Erol? No way!" The Ottsel yelped, "You got the handlebars, brother. And you better keep us alive or I will never speak to you again! Obviously."

"Kick Erol's ass, Jak!" Keira called after him.

**-**

Checking his zoomer over one last time, Jak hopped onto the seat and waited for the race to begin. Adrenaline pumped through his veins and he fidgeted around on the seat, he wanted to get this done and over with. Daxter was perched on his shoulder and was looking around at the Stadium crowd, he waved when he saw Tess standing next to Ashelin. The blonde happily waved back but stopped suddenly when something to her right caught her eye. Daxter watched as the two she-elves' eyes widen in shock when they turned to face a familiar blue-and-green haired she-elf. The Ottsel's own eyes widened when he saw Keira, there was a big gash on her forehead and blood was dripping down the left side of her face, even from where he was standing, Daxter could see a nasty bruise forming on her upper right arm and left temple. Tess and Ashelin began fussing over Keira and he watched as she broke into tears.

"Uhh...Jak," the Ottsel nudged his friend.

"What is it Daxter?" The elf was studying the other racers when the rodent called him.

"I think something happened to Keira..." Daxter said slowly.

"What do you mean?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, Keira somehow has a huge, bloody gash and her head and now she's balling her eyes out on Tess and Ashelin!" The Ottsel snapped.

"What!?" Jak turned to where his friend was looking and, indeed, found Keira sobbing hysterically on the two she-elves while tried to clean up the wound on her forehead. Both Jak and Dark Jak were trembling with rage as they watched their beloved, crying and wounded. He saw Keira look up and point at something behind them, then began sobbing even harder. Jak turned around to see what she was pointing at and nearly snapped when he saw Erol coming closer with a smirk on his face, the elf stopped right next to him.

"What the fuck did you do to Keira!?" Jak snarled.

"Keira?" Erol smirked evilly, "I warned her not to tell anybody our little secret, but she went and told that blonde bimbo and Ashelin....she got what she deserved."

"**_You BASTARD!!!"_** Dark Jak roared but didn't transform, **"I'm going to make you regret the day you were born, you little shit."** Dark Jak's voice was deeper and huskier than Jak's.

"I think after I win this race...." Erol continued, ignoring the threat, "I think I'll have a nice little celebration with Keira.....alone....in my room." The green-and-blonde haired elf growled dangerously.

"**_You will NOT lay a finger on her or I'll-"_**

"Greetings, racers!" Baron Praxis cut him off as he stood on a platform, "Today your nerve and skill will be tested for our amusement. If any of you by some small chance beat our grand champion Erol, then you will be rewarded a month's supply of eco!" His hand gestured towards the many boxes of dark eco then added quickly, "And a short tour of my palace to see how the other half live. Good luck, and die bravely!"

"I'm going to finish what I started back at the fortress, I want more than just to win, Eco Freak...." Erol glared at the elf beside him, "...I want **_you!"_** As the lights went down from red to green, Jak smirked at Erol.

"Sorry, Erol," the light was yellow, "but I don't swing that way." Erol gaped at Jak in anger and disgust just as the light turned green. Jak and Daxter sped off, grinning like maniacs as the idiotic racer was still standing at the starting line. After a moment, Erol growled and sped off after him.

Jak, with his skillful navigating, easily spotted the shortcuts and took them any chance he got. He could hear right behind him, shouting the whole way, which only made the elf smirk and speed up. Daxter, being his usual annoying self, was enjoying himself as he tormented the elf behind them. Jak easily took the lead in front of a fuming Erol, he could hear the crowd going wild as he sped up, crossing the finish line and leaving the other racers behind in the dust.

"Thank you! Thank you very much!" Daxter bowed and blew kisses to the crowd as Jak hopped off the racing zoomer and recieved the pass into the Palace, "I love my public!" The floating platform that held the Baron lowered behind the two.

"Ah, a brave man of the people," Praxis smiled, oblivious to who the winner was, "and who is this worthy opponent? In my world, good men are either bought or broken. So which is it going to be?" Jak smirked as he turned to face the Baron.

"Surprise."

"What!?" Praxis recoiled in shock.

"Just a little closer," the green-and-blonde elf beckoned, "we need to talk."

"Fool! Don't you get it?! It's over, Jak!" Praxis growled angrily, "All the heroes died long ago! Only survival remains... by whatever means! This city is mine! These lives are mine! This war is mine! And in war... **_people die!_** Kill him!" Jak and Daxter looked around at the Krimzon Guards closing in on them when they heard the roar of a racing zoomer, the elf and Ottsel turned to find a smirking Erol reving the engine of his zoomer.

"I win, Jak!" He laughed as he began to speed towards them. Jak growled and let his rage consume him, transforming him into Dark Jak. The Dark Eco Demon ran at Erol and jumped onto the front of his zoomer and, grining evilly, he smashed the controls of the vehicle and jumped off. Erol looked back at him and was about to turn around but the steering was broken, he looked forward and gasped in horror, seeing the dark eco boxes in front of him. The elf crashed into the boxes, disappearing into the dark liquid as his mask flew off and rolled to the side. Dark Jak used the explosion as a diversion and slipped away while everyone was distracted.

The Dark Eco Demon hid in the racing garage until all the commotion died down, he could feel the Dark Eco in his system and figured it would take at least five minutes to wear off. Daxter leapt off to find Tess, saying he would be back later, and ran out the door. The dark elf sighed as he leaned against a table when he suddenly heard a gasp coming from the entrance and looked up to find Keira gaping at him. Dark Jak cringed, she had never seen him in his dark form and was sure that she would turn and run. He was caught by surprise when he felt the girl launch at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and sobbing into his chest. The Dark Eco Demon wrapped his own arms around her slim waist, careful of his deadly claws.

"I...oh Mar...Jak, I thought he was going to kill you!" Keira cried, tightening her hold around him.

"Keira..." he sighed and she pulled away from his chest to look up at his face, tears were still sparkling in her emerald orbs and he carefully wiped them away with his knuckle. She looked straight into his pitch black eyes and smiled. Dark Jak's gaze was then directed at the gash on her forehead which was still bleeding. He frowned and brought his mouth closer to it and began licking away at it.

"Uh..J-Jak?" Keira blushed furiously, "What are you doing?"

"I'm cleaning it," he paused his licking.

"Are....are you sure that's cleaning it?" She asked disbelievingly.

"Shut up, I know what I'm doing," he growled lovingly and continued the ministrations with his tongue. _'He's like a big dog,'_ Keira giggled at the thought but winced when his tongue swept over her open wound. As soon as he pulled away from the gash, she felt a slight tingling sensation on her head and timidly grazed a finger over the wound. Keira gasped when all she felt was smooth skin and a bruise, she walked over to a shiny piece of metal and looked at her reflection, sure enough, the only thing left of the gash was a barely noticible scar. She turned to Dark Jak.

"What the hell did you do?" She asked in amazement.

"I used to heal myself that way when I was still the Baron's prisoner," he shrugged. Keira didn't miss the flash of pain in his eyes and decided to change the subject fast, asking the first thing that popped into her head.

"So...what else can you do with that tongue of yours, Jak?" She asked innocently but then slapped a hand over her mouth when she saw Dark Jak with a seductive grin on his face. "Uhh...that wasn't...I didn't-I mean....that's not...oh, stop grinning at me like that! You know that's not what I meant!" Keira blushed furiously but the dark elf just stepped closer to the girl.

"It isn't?" He teased.

"Jak..." she pouted.

"I can show you," Dark Jak wrapped an arm around her slim waist and pulled he even closer, letting her feel the hard lump grind against her waist.

"Sh-show me what?" Keira was having a hard time breathing and the temperature seemed to have risen a few hundred degrees.

"What else I can do with this tongue of mine," he smirked, making her insides turn into a liquid fire.

"Uhh...." was Keira's intelligent response as she watched his lips come closer to her own, she could hear her heart pumping wildly in her ear and wouldn't be surprised if Dark Jak could too. The she-elf moaned in sudden pleasure when she felt his fingers graze across the scar where he had bit her when she gave him that lap dance and the dark elf took that opportunity to claim her parted lips. Keira could see fireworks as Dark Jak's hot, velvety tongue ravage her mouth, her legs gave way and her brain faintly registered the elf lifting her up and pinning her against the wall. All she could feel was that moist tongue exploring her mouth expertly, his fingers stroking the scar on her neck which caused wave after wave of pleasure to roll through her body, and his hardened arousal grinding against her hot, wet core.

As their tongues battled, Jak could feel himself returning to normal but could still sense Dark Jak there, it was like he was whole again. He moaned when Keira ran her hands through his hair and gently caressed the base of his neck, causing him to grind into her further. Jak pulled away from their heated, passion-driven kiss and moved his mouth to her neck, seductively nipping and sucking his way down to her collar bone. Keira panted heavily as her hips moved against his on their own accord, trying to rid her stomach of the knot that was forming. When she felt his lips meet the scar on her neck, she nearly hit her climax. Jak smirked as he let his tongue run around the scar, earning a frustrated moan from the she-elf pressed up against the wall. After a few more moments of torturous teasing, he felt his canines lengthen (curteousy of Dark Jak) and wasted no time sinking them back into her neck. Keira cried out as she slipped into ecstasy, her orgasm pulsing through her body as Jak lovingly nuzzled her neck. She panted and tried to regain her steady breathing, after a few minutes of just breathing (and the dark elf placing butterfly kisses on the she-elf's temple, forehead, and jawline), Keira looked up into Jak's deep blue orbs.

"How the hell do you do that?" She glared playfully as she stood on shaky legs.

"Do what?" He grinned innocently.

"That thing...with the neck and the scar....and the biting," she breathed out.

"I honestly don't know," Jak smiled as he placed a light kiss on her collar bone, "it was something Dark Jak did."

"You named him?" She smirked.

"Well...I couldn't go around calling him 'Other Me'," he frowned, "that'd just be confusing."

"Whatever, I like both of you," Keira stood on her tip toe's to place a small kiss on his lips.

"Really?"

"Well actually....." she smirked evilly, "I **_am _**kind of partial to Dark Jak....."

"Keira!"

"What? He **_is_** a better kisser," Keira giggled.

"Oh yeah?"

"Mm hmm, unless you'd like to try again...." she grinned as he lowered his face to hers, "but I seriously doubt that you could out do Dark J-mmph!" Keira was cut off when Jak's lips claimed hers, his tongue parting her lips and, once again, ravaging her mouth.

"AHHHH!!!! My eyes!" Daxter startled the two and they leapt away from each other, both looking at the Ottsel like a deer in the headlights. "Jeez! At least get a **_room_** when you guys are gonna go at it!" The two elves blushed furiously as the rodent scolded them.

"Uhh...hey, Dax," Jak chuckled in embarassment. Daxter just shook his head.

"What are you gonna do with that pass you got for winning the race?" The Ottsel asked.

"The security pass to the palace! I forgot about it," he grinned at Keira, who blushed even more, "I gotta get to the palace!"

"I'll come with-"

"No, Keira," Jak frowned, "not this time."

"But Jak-"

"Keira," he set a stern gaze at her and she sighed.

"Fine....." Jak turned to follow the Ottsel outside but paused and turned back to Keira, he swept her into another passionate kiss and whispered huskily into her ear.

"I'll make it up to you when I get back."

"You better," Keira frowned and placed her hands on her hips, "or I'll have to punish you."

"Oh?" Jak grinned in that sexy way of his as the she-elf blushed once again.

_**"That's NOT what I meant!!!"**_

**- - - - - -**

**A/N:** Chapter Five Finished!!! Argh, I just got back from school....I swear, I think it's a form of child abusement! You can only take so much when in high school!! Ah well, I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter, please review!!!

-Ash


	7. Destruction of Kor

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay, I'm totally exhausted from school and homework....sheesh, I still have a Chemsitry test to study for! Oh my goodness gracious. I'll try to speed up the updates, but that depends on how merciful my teachers are willing to be....ah well, I hope you like this chapter, the first part is kind of sad, I was crying when I wrote it and the rest is a little rushed, I just wanted to get Jak 2 over....uhh....well, happy reading!

**Pairings:** JxK, TxA, DxTess

**Chapter Summary:** Jak, Keira, and Daxter defeat the Metal Head leader!

_**Special Thanks To Those Who Reviewed:**_

**littlekittykat:** Thanks, I tried to put in a lot of emotion into the characters, lots of sad emotion in the first part of this chapter though. Yes, I am going to continue on to Jak 3 (which will actually be next chapter), and Light Jak will have his own persona like Dark Jak, and I guess the rest you'll just have to read and find out....gee hee. It'll all be good though! And yes, I know about Erol, I've already finished Jak 3 (I'm still very disappointed in the storyline...).

**gohan11:** LoL, school sucks major balls, I'm surprised I haven't dropped dead yet! And the JakxAshelin pairing in the 3rd game is more than just queer! It's angering! Stupid people who even thought of putting that in the game....what **_were_** they thinking?

**AL aka amanda:** (sigh) I wish I had a guy I could do that with...(coughperferablyJakcough)

**odoru:** Your reviews don't seem like much, I actually like long reviews, I like listening to people's opinions.

**shinkudragon:** Lol, I liked that last part too, thanks. But this chapter wasn't updated as fast as the others, oh well, at least it's up!

**Light-Eco-Sage:** OMG, that would be hilarious! I'm sad to report, though, that there aren't any steamy love scenes in this chapter....I'm so cruel, lol.

**Jynxie-07:** I personally think they should've drawn out Erol's death longer, and more painful, but I guess him blowing up in a whole bunch of boxes of Dark Eco is good enough.

**fluffys-sidekick:** Thanks, I hope you keep reviewing!

**June:** Thank you, but I still don't know what you mean by 'fucked up' stories...

**Razul Flaris Pyris:** You know, that's a cool name, Razul...uhh, anyway...umm...lol, do they even have condoms there?

**SilverHawk 27:** I thought it'd be interesting if Jak could talk to Dark Jak, but DJ is basically Jak so that would mean he's having a conversation with himself....or does it mean he's schizophrenic? Lol, I don't know....

**J-Kwon and Thet:** It is? (giggles like an inane school girl) i'm very glad to hear that! It's a very big confidence booster! Thank you very much!

**Whiskers:** Oh jeez...I dreading collage right now, but I still have another year left of highschool before I enter **_that_** hell....that is, if I get all my credits in time....

**ChibiSess:** I agree, fluff is good, I think everyone should get a little bit of fluff everyday, it'd make the world a better place.

**Toboe's Pup:** Hmm....guy searching on the beach....sounds like so much fun! And now that I'm single again....I can flirt with guys all I want!! Yay!

**Kat:** Well, I'm glad you like this story! It's good to know that I've got some readers hooked! Gee hee...

**hersheykisses: **Well, school sucks......a lot.....I mean really....it's inhumane really, stuffing a whole bunch of hormone filled teenagers into one building! Seriously, whoever came up with that idea would soooo be shot if they weren't already dead.

**jaclyn:** Yeah, I should probably get Keira some new clothes....

**GH2:** Lol, it's usually the other way around for me...I always end up saying something that sounds dirty....it's hilarious though.

**- - - - - -**

**Darker Still  
**by Ashelin Rayne

**Chapter Six  
**_Destruction of Kor_

"Ah man, I would've **_loved_** to be there to watch Krew blow up," Keira sighed as she sat at the bar next to Jak. Tess was cheering Daxter on as he played Whack-A-Metal Head, enjoying the now Krew-free atmosphere.The four of them sat inside the Hip Hog, having a small celebration of the demise of the obese bar owner, Krew. Keira was sipping away at her drink, watching the Ottsel in amusement as he was shocked everytime he hit the wrong Metal Head as Jak sat next to her.

"It wasn't that great," Jak shrugged. the she-elf shot him a disbelieving look, "okay, it was awesome!"

"Ahhh....two years of slaving away for that fat fuck and now he's finally gone," she grinned, enjoying her blissful happiness.

"Keira?" The dark elf turned to her.

"Mm hmm?" She raised an eyebrow, still off in La La Land.

"Why **_did_** you work for Krew?" Keira froze and slowly directed her gaze towards the green-and-blonde haired elf looking curiously at her. She looked around the room and looked at Tess and Daxter.

"I...I can't talk about it here," she sighed as she stood up and made her way towards the door followed closely by the dark elf. They walked in silence by the man-made lake. Jak kept stealing glances at the she-elf beside him every few seconds, letting a smile slip over his features when he noticed how the moonlight made her seemingly glow, like an ethereal angel. He frowned when he saw a lone tear make a trek down her cheek as her walking came to a stop, the elf turned to face her and gently wiped the drop of salty liquid off with the calloused pad of his thumb.

"Keira?" His deep blue eyes tried desperately to catch her downcasted emerald ones, which were beginning to get even more watery.

"I'm not proud of what I did these past two years, Jak," Keira said brokenly as she averted her gaze away from him, "I'm not proud of working for Krew, but I was fifteen Jak, **_fifteen._** No one else would take me because I was too young...." The she-elf chuckled bitterly.

"You know, the first night we landed here I killed someone," Jak stared at her with wide eyes, "right before I went to Krew to beg for a job. I still remember how it happened just like it was yesterday....I was looking for you, Daddy, and Daxter, I walked around the city for the whole day. When it was getting dark I noticed someone was following me...I kept walking and tried to lose him but that didn't work, pretty soon, there was no one left outside except me and my stalker....I ran. I ran and ran but he caught me and dragged me into an alley...I couldn't get away and....and he started undoing his belt. I found my wrench on my tool belt and I just started hitting him....I didn't stop until I noticed that he wasn't moving...." Tears were streaming down her face as her whole body was shaking like a leaf and the dark elf wrapped his arms around her to keep her from collapsing as her legs gave way. Keira pointed a trembling hand to the alley a few feet to the right of them.

"I killed him in there....the blood stain is still there...."

"Oh, Keira....." Jak tried to brush away her tears but every drop he wiped, another replaced it, "you did what you had to do, it wasn't your fault..."

"When I began to work for Krew, I-I couldn't fight back...." she continued, "I couldn't fight back or else Krew would've killed me. 'Just let them have their way, pet,' he'd always say that, 'you can't deny the customers anything!' I couldn't do a damn thing about it, and if I did refuse, I was beaten. Sig tried to help as much as he could without being caught by Krew." Keira took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, suddenly, her sadness turned into anger and hate.

"I met Erol through Krew," she glared at the alley, "he told me Erol needed a mechanic and he knew I was good at fixing things so he ordered me to work for that bastard. The minute I walked into that garage he wouldn't stop hounding me to go on a date with him. I figured if I went on one date with him, he'd stop bugging me, he took me to the Hip Hog and the whole time, he kept trying to put moves on me and I kept flat-out refusing him. Erol drank a lot that night and when we left....he....dragged me...to that same **_fuckin'_** alley where I killed that man...and he..he took me..." By then, Keira was sobbing into Jak's chest.

"That fucking bastard, if he wasn't dead already....I'd fuckin' kill him **_again!_**" He growled and he could feel Dark Jak trying to surface again, at that point, Jak didn't care and let himself half-transform again, just like the night at the Hip Hog when Keira gave him a lap dance.

"I'm sorry, Jak...." Keira cried out in between sobs.

"What?" Half-Dark Jak looked down at the she-elf in his arms with a confused expression, "Why are you sorry, it's that bastard that should be sorry!"

"The whole time....all I coiuld think about was you..." she sobbed harder, "...I couldn't fight back! I wasn't strong enough....not without you...." His grip tightened around Keira as he began to fight tears, the she-elf had to endure pain and torture for the past two years, just like him.

"God, I'm so sorry, Keira," he ground out through gritted teeth, not caring that his voice was cracking as a few tears escaped down his cheeks, "I'm so sorry I couldn't be there to protect you....I'm so sorry that all of those things had to happen to you...I'm so sorry...." Keira could feel drops of liquid splash onto her head and forehead, she looked up and her heart fell to pieces when she saw her beloved, half-transformed elf so sad and broken. To know that the half elf, half dark eco demon cared enough to cry about her made her sob even more and she buried her head into his chest.

"I'm so sorry....I'm so sorry..." he nuzzled his cheek against her hair, trying to calm the storm swirling inside of him, "but we're all together now, and I'll never let anything hurt you ever again. I promise...."

The two elves stood by the lake, lost in each other's embrace as they basked in the light of the moon and stars. A weight was lifted off of Keira's shoulders as she began to relax against Half Dark Jak's body, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart beat. She felt the world around her melt away and all she could feel was the warmth of his embrace, her arms snaked their way around his neck, hands making light ministrations to the back of his neck. As a deep rumble errupted from his chest and throat, Keira had to stifle back a giggle. She looked up at his face and smiled at his half closed eyelids and lazy grin, the rumbling had yet ceased to stop.

"Jak?" The dark elf focused his dark blue-nearly-black eyes at the she-elf. "Were you....purring?" His eyes shot open and she giggled as a blush formed on his paler-than-normal cheeks.

"I don't purr," he grumbled.

"Yeah...sure," Keira couldn't stop giggling for the life of her, making Half Dark Jak pout and making her errupt in a fit of more giggles.

"I don't!" He cried indigiantly.

"You keep telling yourself that...." she grinned.

"Oh yeah? Well..." the dark elf frowned when he couldn't think of anything to say. The she-elf in his arms was still giggling like an inane school girl, he **_had_** to make her stop! For the sake of his pride! Half Dark Jak smirked mischeiviously and quickly leaned down to take the scar on her neck into his mouth, expertly nipping and sucking at it.

"J-Jak!" Keira gasped in surprise and pleasure.

"Yes?" He looked up at her innocently.

"Asshole," she growled playfully but gasped again when he attacked her neck with his tongue and fangs again, "th-that's not f-fair!"

"Hey Jak! Keira!" Daxter, with his beautifully perfect timing, called out from the Hip Hog. The two pulled apart and, regretfully, trudged back to the bar, Half Dark Jak slowly returning to normal. They found Tess congratulating the Ottsel for winning the Whack-A-Metal Head game. The rodent held up his prize to the two elves.

"Look! The Time Map!" Daxter then turned to the blonde she-elf, "You know, sugar plum, if any **_real_** Metal Heads came into town, I'd bonk 'em just like I did in the game!" Just as the words left his furry muzzle, a pair of Metal Heads came walking up behind him.

"Daxter..." Tess eyed the Metal Heads nervously.

"They'd be all 'Don't hurt me please!' and I'd be all 'Too late, Metal Monkies!'" The oblivious Ottsel continued, "'You die screaming!' Hee, hee. Know what I'm saying?"

"Um..." Jak and Keira raised their Blaster guns, aiming at the Metal Heads as Daxter turned to face them.

"Jak, I think these trophies are still walking!" He cried. Both Jak and Keira fired at the same time, hitting both Metal Heads directly on their Skull Gems and killing them instantly.

"Ma... Ma... Metal Heads! Metal Heads!" The rodent panicked, "Where's Sig when you need him?!"

"Sig? I think Krew sent him on one last mission" Tess informed them, "something about using Mar's Ruby Key to open a secret door in the Underport?"

"Of course! Come on Dax, we need to get to the Underport right now!" Jak picked up the Ottsel and placed him on his shoulder.

"I want to go with you!" Keira went to follow them but the dark elf stopped her.

"No, Keira," he shook his head, "you have to finish the Rift Rider." Keira sighed and nodded her head.

"I'll help you Keira," the blonde she-elf grabbed the Time Map and Heart of Mar Gem.

"Be careful angel cheeks, and your hero will return shortly!" Daxter bowed to Tess and the dark elf and Ottsel left.

**-**

Jak and Daxter made their way to the Stadium, the disturbing message from Vin and the death of Sig weighing heavily on their minds. He had called them real Wastelanders, they were going to bust open the Metal Head Nest and take on the Metal Head Leader together, side by side....until that damn evil, giant Metal Head killed him. They watched as he fell into the pit with it.

"Jak!" Keira waved at them happily, not noticing him pull an indifferent mask over his forlorn expression so he didn't worry her, "The Rift Rider's finished! But if my father's right, and the Ring is somewhere in the Metal Head nest, how are we going to get the Rift Rider to use it?" The two approached the she-elf, the two Samoses, and their Lurker friend, Brutter.

"Look!!" The large Lurker pointed up at an object floating in the sky, it was a giant Lurker Balloon, "Brutter just knew friends would need help if Metal Headers attack!"

"Brutter, you're the man!" Daxter cried happily.

"Lurker balloons are finest lifters in the world, but they is easy target," Brutter frowned.

"Right," Jak quickly formed a plan in his mind, "you guys get the Rift Rider to the nest. I'll stay and defend your take-off and get away."

"Once again, being your friend **_sucks_**! I wanna go on the balloon!" The orange rodent groaned.

"You keep Stadium safe while we prep balloon for lift away," the Lurker spotted dark figures rapidly approaching them from all sides, "uh-oh! Here they come! Metal Headers!!" There was a soft thud as a small figure jumped beside the dark elf and drew a Blaster Gun, Jak turned and found Keira standing next to him, a devillish smirk plastered across her pink lips, he couldn't help being a little turned on by it but at the moment, he was more worried about her safety.

"Keira! Get back on the Balloon!" He growled but Keira only raised an eyebrow at him.

"No."

"Keira! I'm **_not_** gonna tell you twice!"

"Okay," she continued to fire at the Metal Heads in range.

"Keira-"

"Look here, buddy," she growled angrily, "I've been killing Metal Heads **_long_** before you! If you think I'm just going to sit here and watch you take on hordes of Metal Heads, you are sadly mistaken! I know how to hold my own and I can take care of myself! So stop treating me like a helpless little girl!" The girl shot down five Metal Heads during her rant.

"Keir-"

"There's **_nothing_** you can say to get me on that Balloon, Jak," she interrupted him, "now, my trigger finger has been itching for a month and I'll be damned if I let you spoil all of my fun!" Keira smirked, knowing she had won the argument.

"Fine," Jak sighed in defeat, "you cover one side and I'll cover the other. If you get hurt, I'm going to kill you." Keira nodded happily and went to cover the other side of the Balloon. As the battle raged on, the dark elf kept stealing glances over at the she-elf, amazed at how deadly and precise she was with her gun, once again agreeing with what Sig had told him about her being a deadly weapon with a gun in her hand. He caught her executing a couple moves and flips he'd seen Ashelin do. Jak froze when Keira was knocked to the ground by a Metal Head and was about to run to her but stopped when she quickly rolled to her feet and shot at the Metal Heads that were beginning to surround her, they went down like Dominoes.

The dark elf grunted as a Metal Head clawed his arm while he was distracted, deciding to himself that Keira really **_could_** take care of herself, he quickly went to work, disposing of all the Metal Heads near him. He rammed his foot into the midsection of an offending Metal Head, then quickly shot it in the face before facing another group of them. Jak leapt at an oncoming Metal Head, using it's head to propel himself into the air, flip-spinning as he simultaneously shot the Metal Heads below him before landing gracefully on the balls of his feet.

"Show off!" Jak heard Keira shout from her side and he smirked. The two Samoses loaded the Rift Rider onto the Lurker Balloon and they and the Lurker began to lift off.

"Up, up and away!" Brutter cried happily.

"Must be nice floating away while we **_die_** down here!" Daxter cried back.

"We'll meet near the nest!" Old Samos called down to them, "See you soon! Keira, be careful! Jak, take care of her!" The dark elf nodded and Keira waved at her....fathers.

"Yeah Jak, take care of her," Daxter muttered when the Green Eco Sage didn't acknowledge him. The three left the Stadium area just as the communicator in Jak's bag sprang to life.

"Jak..." It was Vin, his voice was weak and fading, but he managed to utter three more words, "...Kor... Construction Site..."

"Was that Vin?' Keira asked worridly, "What's wrong with him? Why is he talking like that?"

"The Metal Heads...." Jak growled, "they overran his station....."

"Oh, Mar...." she gasped but didn't let her tears fall, she couldn't, not when they had a mission to complete. Jak hopped onto an abandoned zoomer and motioned for Keira to take the seat behind him.

"Come on," he started the zoomer, "we have to get to the Construction Site." The she-elf swung a leg over the vehicle and pressed herself up against the dark elf as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

**-**

The three reached the Construction Site and spotted the Krimzon Guards and Praxis, they ducked behind the boxes and were about to engage them when the familiar old man jumped in between them all. Keira stared at him in confusion.

"What the hell?"

"Kor?" Jak growled, "What's going on!?"

"I'm sure you know..." Kor smirked evilly, "deep down in your darkest nightmares."

"The old fucker's gone senile," Keira grumbled but gasped when the old elf's eyes turned completely blue and sharp teeth protruded from his jaws.

"We've met before, remember?" Kor barked and both Keira and Jak's eyes widened when they remembered that it was he that appeared before them when they were shot into the future, "Everything's going exactly as planned. HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!" The old man released his grip from his walking stick as giant wings spread out from his back and a tail sprouted out from behind him, his head grew larger as did his body.

"Jak!" Daxter cried out fearfully, "It's the Metal Head Leader!" Kor ripped the cloths from his body, revealing several more limbs.

"Now you see! Without the shield wall disrupting my powers inside the city, I am my full potential now!" Kor laughed, "So for the last time, give me the Precursor Stone!!!"

"If the city must die, then we all die! AAAGGGHHH!!!" The Baron and his Krimzon Guard charged at the giant Metal Head Leader. As they approached him, Kor let out a blast of energy, sending the Guards flying across the Construction Site and throwing the Baron into a delicate structure with Eco barrels and wooden scaffolding.

"I will find that Stone if I have to crush this city one brick at a time!" The Metal Head leader growled angrily and flew away. Jak, Daxter, and Keira headed over to where Praxis had fallen, they removed some of the debris and found the Baron on his stomach, coughing weakly.

"You are the supreme weapon, Jak, and I made you," he said as he rolled onto his back, "still, any leader worth his salt always has his backup plan..." Praxis pulled out a remote and pressed a red button on it, the ground near them shifted as a bomb, an exact replica of the Piercer Bomb that Krew made and was destroyed with, rose above the floor.

"Remember, the first rule in making a bomb... is to always make two!" He smirked, then his head fell to the side, his one eye closed and he lay motionless. The three jumped up and ran to the now ticking bomb.

"I can't see in there!" Keira groaned, "Daxter, you're going to have to go in there."

"Fine," the Ottsel jumped into an open panel, "man, what a mess a junk in here! All jumbled coils and switches! Should I unhook the blue wire? Wait a minute?! Are ottsels color blind? Let me just break a few more things and see if anything pops loose..." Suddenly, the Precursor Stone popped out from the top.

**_"BOOM!!"_** Daxter cried out, making the two elves jump in fright, "Ha ha! Gotcha!" Keira smacked the back of his head when he slid back to Jak, the dark elf picked up the the Stone and the three left the Construction Site.

**-**

"Damn fuckin' evil Metal Head bastards!" Keira barked as she shot a Metal Head in mid-leap when it tried to sneak up on her. Jak finished off the last two Metal Heads in the area and moved onto the next area, the she-elf spotted a large structure that strangely resembled a gun, Keira gasped when she realized it was the huge gun that Mar had built to blow open the Metal Head Nest but died before he got to use it. She tugged on the dark elf's red cape-cloth and pointed out the huge gun to him, they found a lift near the base of it and stepped onto it as it rose up when suddenly, the comunicator went off.

"There isn't much hope now. With the Shield Wall destroyed, it's just a matter of time before the Metal Heads overwhelm us," Ashelin spoke through the comm, "you should just go through the rift back to your own time, Jak, and get away from this horrible place." Jak ignored her suggestion and popped the Precursor Stone into the machine.

"I see your point. Come on, Jak," Daxter pleaded with the dark elf.

"This place is worth fighting for!" Keira stated, "Ashelin! If you die....I'm going to be very angry with you!"

"Keira!?" The red head gasped when she heard her friend's voice, "What the hell are you doing there!?"

"Having a picnic," she drawled on sarcastically, "what do you think? And I'm serious about you dieing.....I still want to see little Torns and Ashelins running around the place, I still want to be Aunt Keira!" The green-and-blue haired she-elf knew Ashelin was blushing and she could see Jak and Daxter with their mouths hanging open from the corner of her eye.

"Uhh....we'll hold out as long as we can! Fare well!" The Krimzon Guard woman shut off the comm and Keira shook her head, a grin still plastered onto her face. A huge mechanical click caught her attention and she watched as Jak loaded the huge gun and aimed at the nest.

"Precursor Stone. Gun. Nest!" A maniacal smile spread across his features as the gun powered up.

"Light 'er up, padre!" Daxter cried.

"HA! HA! HA! Eat this!" Jak laughed maniacally as the gun shot a huge green beam into the nest, drilling a path.

"That ought to wake 'em up!" The Ottsel grinned.

"Let's go take care of business!" The dark elf said.

"What? You mean, go in there? Ahh, I'm right behind you!" Daxter gulped nervously as the three began to descend on the lift. Keira glared at Jak.

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"How come **_you_** got to shoot the ginormous gun?" She pouted as she crossed her arms over her chest, the dark elf chuckled as he stared at her, she looked so adorable when she pouted.

"You were busy talking to Ashelin," he shrugged as he pulled out his Morph Gun, toggling through all four of his guns. He saw Keira's eyes bug out when she spotted the PeaceMaker.

"Sig gave **_you_** a PeaceMaker!?" She cried, "That is **_so_** not fair! Where **_is_** Sig? I need to beat him over the head with a stick." At her question, Jak and Daxter visibly saddened at the thought of Sig. "Guys? Sig's alright....isn't he?"

"Sig....he...he was killed," Jak said sadly. Keira felt tears pricking her emerald orbs, Sig was like a big brother to here during the two years she was alone in Haven City, he had become a part of her family. She held the tears back, knowing that Sig wouldn't want her to cry over him.

"Oh," she said quietly. The silence was disrrupted by the roar of Metal Heads inside the nest, the two elves immediately loaded their guns, putting aside their sadness and letting anger and revenge for the Wastelander take over. They easily made their way through the nest, leaving behind them a trail of dead Metal Head bodies. Both Keira and Jak were beginning to sweat as their muscles worked to keep them moving, shooting any Metal Head in sight. Jak could feel Dark Jak inside him, demanding to be let out so he could fell the blood of the Metal Heads on his claws. The three finally made it to a large, round area with a large, round pit in the middle, on the other side of the area, they saw the Rift Ring.

"Finally, you've decided to join us and you bought the Precursor Stone. Good." Kor appeared above the round pit, "The boy will now play his final part." They saw the small boy with green hair and large, innocent blue eyes and dressed in blue overalls with a white shirt under. He was the rightful heir to the throne and was currently unconscious in a black energy sphere near the Metal Head leader.

"Not this time," Jak growled.

"Oh, but this child is such a part of this! Such a part of you! Don't you recognize him?" The Metal Head laughed, "The boy is you, Jak! And this place... this is where you began, in the future!" Keira gasped and noticed the similarities between the boy and Jak.

"But how...?" The dark elf growled.

"You were hidden in the past on the hope that you would gain the skills to face me today. But Onin was wrong!" Kor roared, "Now that you've been altered with dark eco, the stone will never open for you. Your younger self, however, still has the pure gift! He alone can awaken the Stone and the Precursor entity, which sleeps inside!"

"This stone is a Precursor?" Jak looked at the stone in his hand.

"The last Precursor egg! Mar was clever," the Metal Head lead hissed, "he covered his tracks well through time, hiding his last egg from me, and building the shield and city to defend it! It has been a long siege. But today, I will finally feed on the last Precursor Life Force!"

"Ah, I think you're forgetting one little thing, Metalo-Maniac!" Daxter snorted, "**_We've_** got the Precursor Stone!"

"Not for long!" Kor roared as he charged up and launched an energy blast at them, hitting the ceiling above them and making the rocks fall onto them.

"Jak!!" Keira cried out as he pushed her to the ground and covered her with his own body. The Metal Head watched the pile of rubble and growled when Dark Jak burst out of the debris with the she-elf held in his protective arms. He set Keira down and she took out her gun when she saw the numerous Metal Heads beginning to come in through the holes at the edges of the large area.

"I'll keep the other Metal Heads off your back," she said as she stared up into his pitch black orbs and then pulled him into a passionate kiss, "be careful, Jak." Daxter jumped back onto the Dark Eco Demon's shoulder as they seperated.

"**_DIE!!!"_** Kor roared angrily and they engaged in battle.

Dark Jak leapt at the dangling Metal Head leader, attacking whatever he could get his deadly claws on as Kor tried to shoot at him. He tried to get all the vulnerable spots while being careful of the deadly tail. He spared a glance at Keira and grinned as he saw her smirking devillishly while she attacked the Metal Heads head-on. She was a flurry of kicks and flips, working her way around the circular area. The she-elf used a multitude of aerial attacks, flipping and shooting simultaneously, everytime Dark Jak glanced over at her, he saw a whirlwind of beautiful destruction, but he could also see that she was beginning to tire out.

The cables holding Kor up suddenly snapped and he dropped to the ground across from Dark Jak and Daxter and began charging forward, the Dark Eco Demon noted in horror that the Metal Head was heading straight for Keira.

**_"Keira!!"_** Dark Jak roared and the she-elf noticed Kor barreling towards her, she fired at him as she began to back away but the bullets didn't slow him down. With a giant leap, the Metal Head leader was on her. Keira screamed when Kor impaled one of his sharp limbs into her left shoulder, the Metal Head leaned down towards her and his eyes widened in shock.

"**_You!_**" He hissed, "Child of the-AGGH!" Dark Jak rammed into the large Metal Head, the force of the blow knocking him off the she-elf and into the wall. The dark elf carefully lifted Keira up and leapt next to the boy in the dark energy sphere and set her down gently, she whimpered when she moved her shoulder. Dark Jak placed a soft kiss on her forehead, getting up as the Kor began to recover.

**"Daxter, stay with Keira,"** he ordered and the Ottsel jumped down next to Keira.

"No problemo, buddy," the rodent sighed in relief. With a dangerous growl, Dark Jak charged at the Metal Head leader with a vengence and attacked more fiercly, striking at the large Skull Gem, his weakest spot. The dark elf slashed viciously at Kor, inflicting gaping wounds in his body. With a final strike, the Metal Head began to flash and he desperately flew to the Rift Ring but fell to the side an exploded before reaching it. Kor's head rolled near the little Jak, Daxter, and the wounded Keira who Dark Jak immediately rushed to. The Dark Eco Demon cradled her in his arms and began to lick at the open wound, but since the wound was deeper than the gash that he healed before, it didn't completely heal over. Jak felt the Dark Eco draining from his system and he returned to normal, he saw little Jak stand up and walk over to the fallen Precursor Stone and suddenly, an elf-like creature made of light jumped out, hovering over it.

"Oh man... a Precursor," Jak gaped at the figure of pure light.

"It is finished..." the Precursor spoke, "Our ancient enemy is no more. Take hope brave one! The terrible darkness inside you is now balanced by a glorious light! We will meet again..." The light being slipped into the Rift Ring just as the Lurker Balloon descended from the entrance to the the nest, holding the Rift Rider, the two Samoses, and Brutter.

"We haven't much time. I've set the coordinates back to our village," Keira grunted as she tried to sit up, "Let's go home, everyone."

"But we are home," Jak said as he helped her up.

"Keira," Old Samos sighed, "I'm afraid your Rift Rider must be used to send young Jak here to a place where he will grow up safe from harm. He must become old enough to complete the destiny he has fulfilled today." Jak placed his younger self onto the Rift Rider.

"Wait a minute! It's you!" Young Samos exclaimed, "I mean... it's me! I have to take him back and watch over him, don't I? Ah, grub roots! Talk about being in the wrong time at the right place!"

"Hey kid... you take care. Oh... and trust me on this..." the dark elf leaned closer to the kid, "stay away from any wumpbee nests on your ninth birthday, okay?" Little Jak nodded at his older self.

"I sure hope I built this replica right. I don't know if it..." Keira frowned.

"It's perfect, Keira. This is the very machine we found... or will find later," Old Samos explained.

"What? I just built this. After seeing the first one, I mean. It's based on what I remember from..." the she-elf began to get confused.

"Honey, the more you think about it, the more it hurts the head!" Daxter laughed. The Rift Rider began to hover towards the Rift Ring.

"I'll take good care of the child!" Young Samos called to them, "And don't worry... I'll be back in time for the celebration! Fare well!" The young Sage waved as the Rift Rider disappeared into the ring.

"Thanks Samos," Jak smiled, "without you...."

"It's funny..." Samos chuckled, "the boy won't remember any of this."

"No...." the elf grinned as the Rift Ring began to crumble, " I do remember the light."

**-**

"Your transport is ready, m'lady!" Brutter spoke through the comm to Ashelin and Torn who were currently in the palace.

"Thank you, Captain Brutter," the red headed she-elf turned to the elf beside her, "come on... we'll be late for the party at Daxter's new place."

"I've got so much work to do. Besides, it's not my thing," Torn tried to make an excuse for him not to go.

"Ten hut!" Ashelin barked and the elf stood up instantly, "As the new governor of this city, I order the Commander of the New Krimzon Guard to escort me to an official function. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir! I mean, yes ma'am! I mean..." Torn began to blush.

"You can start rebuilding the city tomorrow. Tonight, we get to celebrate with our new friends," the she-elf smrked, "besides, tough guy, I'm dying to see you dance."

"Not likely," the elf growled.

**-**

"Welcome to the Naughty Ottsel! The hippest, happenest, happiest joint in town!" Daxter grinned happily at everyone in the former Hip Hog Heaven bar, "Check out the new decor!"

"Oooh... What a big trophy!" Tess looked up at the large Metal Head that was hung over the bar, it was the head trophy of Kor.

"As if size matters?! I bagged that bad boy myself, baby!" The Ottsel bragged.

"Onin says she doesn't know who has a bigger head. Him or you!" The annoying monkey-bird laughed as he sat upon Onin's head.

"We must not forget Vin and all the others who sacrificed their lives to defeat this evil and protect the child," Samos spoke up. Jak sat at the bar next to Keira, he opened up his hand that held the Amulet of Mar.

"I still can't believe... that little boy was me. Better times, huh?" He looked down at his hand depressingly.

"You miss him, huh?" Keira smiled, "You know, the kid grows up to be a handsome hero!" Jak smiled back as they began to lean in towards each other but was interrupted by the furry, orange rodent....again.... He was glaring at the old soothsayer who was currently drinking out of a blue vile.

"Hey! That's enough for you, lady. I'm cuttin' ya off!" Daxter began to march over to the old she-elf but was zapped to the other side of the counter as the soothsayer waved her hands angrily at him.

"Trust me, she gets real mean when she's like this!" Pecker squawked.

"What'd she say?" The Ottsel asked.

"Something about rubber tubing and certain parts of your mother..." the monkey-bird translated, "you don't wanna know..." Suddenly, the doors to the entrance burst open and a large figure strode in.

"Agghhh! A Metal Head!" The rodent jumped behind the counter, but Jak recognized the figure.

"Sig!" He cried out joyfully.

"Sig!" Daxter popped his head out from behind Pecker, "I knew that."

"You okay!?" The dark elf walked up to the Wastelander.

"You Cherries didn't think some nasty breath, giant sized lizard was gonna keep me from the biggest party in town did ya?!" Sig laughed.

"I knew you were too tough for 'em, big guy!" The Ottsel grinned. Keira slowly came up to the bigger elf, Jak stepped to the side and allowed her stand in front of him, the she-elf looked up at the Wastelander. Suddenly, she punched him square in the jaw, Jak, Daxter, and everyone else stared at her in shock.

"Jeez, Kid!" Sig rubbed his sore jaw, knowing there'd be a small bruise that would appear later, "What the hell was that for!?' Keira launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and crying into his chest.

"You big jerk!" She yelled, "Don't you **_ever_** do that to me again! I thought you really died! The next time you supposedly 'die,' I am **_so_** kicking your ass." Keira stepped away from him and rubbed her tears away.

"I'm sorry, Keira," the Wastelander smiled softly at her, "but you didn't need to punch me so hard."

"Well, I'm still pissed 'cause you gave Jak a PeaceMaker and not me..." she growled.

**-**

"You saved the city and more, my boy!" Samos congratulated the dark elf as they stood outside of the Naughty Ottsel, "Metal Kor and his menace are history, and somewhere out there, an ancient race has begun again."

"I'm just glad to be back home," Jak sighed.

"Yeah? Well, rest up. We've got a lot to do and so much time to do it in!" The Green Eco Sage exclaimed.

"Don't say 'time!' The Rift Ring was destroyed, remember?" The elf groaned.

"You know, my momma used to read me bedtime stories about Mar when she'd tuck me in," Sig sighed, "she'd give me a nice glass of warm yakow milk... and my little Poopsy bear."

"Bedtime stories? Warm milk? Poopsy bear?!" Daxter stared up at the Wastelander in disbelief, "Buddy, ya just blew ya image!"

"I've got a feeling we'll meet Mar someday. He may be closer than you think," Samos said mysteriously.

"You're the designated driver!" Sig grinned as he handed the Ruby Key to the city to Jak.

"Oh no... I am done with adventures. Besides, you'll tell us before something happens next time, right Samos?" The green-and-blonde haired elf looked to the Sage who had an innocent look upon his aged face, **_"Right, Samos!?"_**

"Aarrk! You never know what the future may hold," Pecker squawked.

"Wait..." Daxter stared at the blue monkey-bird accusingly, "you know something, don't ya feather breath?"

"Who? Me? Ah... no..." he looked around nervously, "We're just, ah... guessing, right Samos? Today... tomorrow... Only time will tell!"

"No! You're gonna tell... **_right now!_** Aggghhh!" The rodent pounced on the monkey-bird.

"AAGGHH! Why you little... AAARRR..." Pecker and Daxter tumbled around in a mass of fur and feathers until Sig lifted them both up by their tails, ceasing their incessant fighting.

"Jak, my boy, the future awaits!" Samos grinned as firework errupted from the sky.

**- - - - - -**

**A/N:** Yeesh....done, finally. Arrg, I think my hands are gonna fall off.....okay, next chapter...we will continue onto Jak 3! Which will probably be even more revised and edited to fit my story....ahh, the joys of writing! Please review!!!  
-Ash


	8. Darklighter

**A/N:** OMG! I'm SOOOOO sorry for the really long wait! I didn't know where the story was going and it took me the longest time to figure it out, but I finally did and now the story can go on!I I'll probably start updating my Inuyasha x-over with Catwoman and BtVS x-over w/AVP stories too! I think it was school that gave me writer's block...DAMN EVIL SCHOOL! But hey, now I'm a senior! WOO HOO! Ok, this chapter may be a little rushed...even if it is long, I really hope you guys like it.

**Pairings:** JxK, DxT, TornxAsh

**Chapter Summary:** Jak is exiled from Haven City, Keira goes to Spargus City to look for him

_**THANK YOU TO ALL WHO REVIEWED! I LOVE YOU GUYS! 100 Reviews! Yay!**_

**- - - - - -**

**Darker Still  
**by Ashelin Rayne

**Chapter Seven  
**_Darklighter_

"By order of the Grand Council of Haven City, for heinous acts and crimes against the people, you are hereby banished to the Wasteland for life," a tall, stiff looking man in blue sneered down at the dark elf in chains, his long and pointy nose scrunched up in disgust and his overly bushy eyebrows scrunched together...almost creating a sort of unibrow. Two Krimzon Gaurds held the chained elf from behind as they stood by the Air Train, around them was a vast expanse of desert exposed to the scorching heat of the sun.

"This is a death sentence, Veger," a red headed she-elf hissed angrily as she stepped next to him, "there must be another way."

"Your protest was overruled! This dark eco freak is dangerous! Now drop the cargo!" The man known as Count Veger pointed at the elf in chains.

"This is an outrage! I am outraged beyond words!" A blue monkey-bird squawked, "Although I do have something to say! Not everyone agrees with this ridiculous aaggrrkk! Decree..."

"Yeah! we want a recount!" An orange Ottsel agreed.

"Oh, I see you wish to join him," Veger raised an overly bushy eyebrow.

"Actually we are not that outraged," Pecker answered quickly, "farewell Jak! Stay out of the sun... Drink lots of water... If you can find it..."

"Jak?" Daxter looked at his best friend, now in chains.

"Get back to the city, Dax," the dark elf ordered with a sad grin.

"I'm sorry. The Council is too powerful. There was nothing I..." Ashelin said grimly as she approached Jak.

"I know," the dark elf nodded in understandment. The red headed she-elf stepped even closer to him as she held a round, metal object that was blinking a red light.

"You just stay alive, you hear me? That's an order!" She growled as she slipped the metal object into his hand, "If you upset Keira by letting your sorry ass die, I'm going to beat the shit out of you. Someone will find you, I promise." The Guards released Jak from his chains and they stepped onto the Air Train with Veger and Ashelin.

"May the Precursors have mercy on you," the tall, pointy faced man smirked as the blue vehicle lifted off into the sky, leaving a cloud of swirling dust in its wake and a sputtering elf trying to cover his face to keep the grains of sand away. Jak coughed as he expelled the last bits of sand from his lungs and looked to the sky, his only way back to civilization slowly becoming smaller as it flew farther away. He sighed as he was about to turn around, unsure if he was ready to face whatever the Wasteland would throw at him, when something caught his attention.

"Daxter!" The orange Ottsel and blue monkey-bird stood where the Air Train had once been, brushing the dust off their fur and feathers.

"Don't thank me! I'm only here because you wouldn't last a second without me!" Daxter grinned as he looked up at his best friend, "Okay tough guy, you got us into this mess, now ya gotta get us out!"

"Ahh! What a team we'll make!" Pecker commented.

"Let's just get moving. But which way?" Jak looked around.

"That way!" Daxter and Pecker exclaimed at the same time, pointing in different directions.

"Oh, and I suppose you know where you're going, eh!" The monkey-bird scoffed as he placed his wings on his hips.

"Better than you do, bent beak!" The Ottsel shot back.

"Aggh...let's just get moving," Jak growled, already tired of the two bickering back and forth.

"This was all your stupid idea!" Pecker pointed a feather at the furry rodent.

"No, it was yours! Only a birdbrain could have thought this one up..." Daxter growled. "Let's go with him... we'll help together... you mean we'll die together! I can't believe the city hates us... we saved those lowlifes!" The dark elf tried to tune the two animals out as he remembered the events that lead up to his current...situation.

**-**

_"Jak, the city's divided," Torn turned to the dark elf, "reports say new Krimzon Death Bots are holding a vital section of the industrial area! My men are getting their asses kicked! The KG have a new leader. We're trying to find out who it is."_

_"I'm afraid I've got more bad news..." Samos the Green Eco Sage spoke up, "A large group of surviving Metal Heads have concentrated in another section of the city."_

_"But we destroyed Kor!" Jak looked at the Sage in confusion._

_"It appears the strongest Metal Heads have survived," Samos replied grimly, "the battle for the city has just begun!"_

_"The people are blaming you, Jak," Ashelin frowned._

_"Why are they doing this? Jak's done nothing but help Haven City!" The blonde renegade looked up to see the concerened face of his green-and-blue haired she elf._

**-**

Jak let the picture of Keira's face linger in his mind as his body began to give way from heat exhaustion, he let a small smile slip across his features as his head hit the ground.

"Right. Good plan, Jak..." Daxter muttered as he lay next to his friend, "a nap would be nice... Just a teensy little rest..."

"Aggh! This bird is overcooked!" Pecker squawked.

"The Palace..." Jak muttered as he slipped out of consciousness.

_-_

_"Report!" Came the command from the Green Eco Sage as he, Jak, and Daxter stood near the Baron's palace overlooking the city.._

_"It's bad!" Torn's voice sounded through the communicator, "The city's become a battlefield! Mechanized Death Bots have taken the industrial section, and the surviving Metal Heads have expanded their hold on the Westside. We're losing ground on all fronts."_

_"The Council's meeting tonight in emergency session," the feminine voice of Ashelin added, "rumblings about you, Jak. It doesn't look good. They think your friendship with Krew helped the Metal Heads get into the city."_

_"You don't believe that do you?" Jak asked his two friends in worry._

_"What's in the past is done," Samos said grimly, "right now, Metal Heads are assaulting the Palace. They're looking for something, and I have no idea..." The Sage was cut off when the Metal Heads launched an attack on the Palace's support cables, knocking it over. The giant building began to implode from the ground up._

_"HELLLP!" Daxter screamed, "WE'RE FALLING!"_

_"Need a lift?" Keira smirked as she appeared near the balcony the three were on in a large, multi-seater zoomer._

_"Over here!" Jak motioned to the other two, "Jump!" The renegade, Sage, and Ottsel quickly boarded the zoomer just as the palace began to crumble._

_-_

The sun beat mecilessly down on Jak's fallen form as he continued to replay the memories of his time in Haven City. He barely managed to growl as a ball of anger began to grow in his chest, they had thrown him out of the city just because they needed someone to blame for the attacks. The renegade could feel Dark Jak clawing his way to the surface and Jak was more than happy to indulge him in his fit of rage, he would've transformed but was out of Dark Eco and too exhausted.

"Damn them..." Jak ground out as he began to lose consciousness again. Before he completely blacked out, he felt a shadow move over him.

"Looks like we've found some live ones..." an old elf bent over the green-and-blonde haired elf on the ground, examining his body, "heh, barely. Here's the beacon we were picking up." The old elf grabbed the front of Jak's tunic and pulled him up, only to have the younger elf's head roll to the side, "Who gave you this?" No answer. "We'll take them with us! Let's move! I smell a storm coming!" The old elf turned to the small band of elves behind him as a wind began to pick up around them, he looked down at the young elf again as a sense of familiarity washed over him.

"Your Higness," a huge, bulky elf with blonde hair called out to his leader.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming," Damas grinned to his fellow elf, "Keira should be arriving soon, wouldn't want to keep her waiting...you know the temper on that little she-devil."

**------**

_"Mama? Daddy?"_

_Dark._

_Everything was Dark._

_"Mama? Daddy?" A little girl, barely six years in age with big, bright emerald green eyes and beautiful blue-and-green hair pulled up in high pig-tails, called out. "Why are you sleeping? We have to go, the bad people are here!"_

_Silence._

_Everything was silent._

_"Mama! Please! Daddy! Why won't you wake up!"_

_There was suddenly a loud pounding echoing everywhere, pounding from the giant doors._

_"The bad people are here!"_

_"Open up you little brat!'_

_"Mama! Daddy! Wake up! I don't like this! Please! Why won't you wake up!"_

_- Keira...I'm sorry, baby...- An angelic voice rang in the air just as the doors were broken open._

_"Mama?"_

_- Please be safe, and remember...your Father and I will love you always and forever...-_

_"Mama?" The child was surrounded by a glorious light, blinding her before everything went dark. "Mama! MAMA!"_

_Warm._

_Everything was warm._

_There was warm sand all around and the little girl could feel warm water lapping at her feet. She blinked as her eyes quickly adjusted to the bright sun directly above her. A shadow suddenly blocked out the sun and the girl found herself staring into the biggest, bluest eyes she had ever seen._

_Blue._

_They were so blue._

**-**

"Keira," the she-elf felt something nudge her shoulder as she began to wake from her dream. Keira let her senses stretch out, the fog of her dream slowly lifting from her mind. She could hear the loud hum of the transport zoomer she was currently riding in and felt the cold steel of a certain Wastelander against her arm.

"Meh...I'm awake," she grumbled, turning away from the source of the voice with an annoyed whine. Keira looked out the open door and across the desert Wasteland and saw the familiar city skyline, one of the reasons for her visit to Spargus City was to see if Damas could help find her recently banished dark elf, Jak. She knew he was alright because she knew he could take care of himself...or at least that's what she hoped. Keira laid her head back against the wall behind her and closed her eyes, intent on going back to sleep. She nearly fell into a blissful slumber when Sig nudged her again.

"C'mon Cherry," Sig rolled his eyes at the young she-elf, "one minute until we reach the LZ."

"Eh...?" Keira opened one bleary, glazed over with sleep, eye, "Did you just say lasagna?"

"No, Kid..." the Wastelander shook his head, "I said LZ...the landing zone..."

"Right."

There was a moment of silence as both elves were left speechless from Keira's bout of stupidity.

SIg stared.

Keira stared.

Sig blinked.

Keira blinked.

The older elf once again shook his head, baffled by the antics of the younger generation. With her face red with embarassment, Keira was about to open her mouth to say something when she was cut off by a bullet whizzing by her head. Both elves looked over the side of the open cargo door and saw a little over a dozen Marauders swarning the small Oasis where the transport zoomer would've landed.

"Shit..." Sig growled in annoyance.

"Look's like we got ourselves a Hot LZ," a devillish smirk made its way across Keira's full lips as she drew out her beloved Morph Gun, giddy as a school girl at the thought of another fight.

"Of course...I always get stuck with the crazies," the Air Train driver looked back at the two elves he was transporting.

"Hey! I heard that!" Keira snarled, suddenly appearing behind the driver's seat, making him jump, "Don't bother touching down, we'll jump."

"We will?" Sig raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, besides, we're not that high up," she grinned as she pushed the armor-clad elf off before jumping after him. Keira rolled as she hit the ground, simultaneously shooting down three of the Marauders' vehicles. She and Sig stood back to back, the duo slowly worked at taking down the rest of the Marauders as they circled the two like Lurker sharks closing in on the kill. Keira did her best to dodge their gun fire but when she had limited space to move in, it was a little hard, and so when she felt the painful sting of a bullet lodging itself in her side -dangerously close to her ribs- she cursed.

"Keira!" Sig eyed her wound in the midst of trying to keep the Marauders away.

"I'm fine!" She gritted out as she grasped her side, trying to stop the bleeding and shoot at the same time, which was proving very difficult. Adrenaline pumped through her system as she fought to keep steady, fought to keep herself from giving the Marauders a chance to exploit her weakened state. But try as she might, the wound she had was making her lose a lot of blood and it was slowing down her movements. As Keira dodged another Maraurder that had managed to get close to the duo, she lost her footing and stumbled onto her knees, splatering her blood onto the sand beneath her.

"Kid!" She could faintly hear Sig yelling over the roaring of the Marauders' motor vehicles, one in particular that seemed to be getting closer. Keira looked up a split second too late before a Marauder smashed the butt of his gun on her temple.

Keira swore she saw little Flut Fluts flying around her line of sight as everything went black for a moment. The she-elf felt herself being picked up none-too-gently and heard the panicked yell of Sig, concluding very quickly that it was _not_ her Wastelander friend that had picked her up. Keira began to struggle out of whoever's grasp she was in, being careful of her bullet wound. Her vision returned, making her squint at the sudden brightness of the desert, and she looked at her captor. She was mildly suprised when she found him to be quite attractive. His dark green hair was spiked up and he had piercing green eyes. He was attractive, but the fact that he was a Marauder, the fact that he had attacked her and the fact that he was attempting to kidnap her negated that fact.

"Hey you fucking asshole!" Keira roared and made him fall over, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" She scrambled to her feet and kicked him in the face, muttering "You dumb piece of shit" before stumbling back to Sig who sighed in relief as she picked up her fallen morph gun.

"Jeez, Kid!" He growled, "Don't make me worry like that again or I'll take your gun away for a month!"

"You wouldn't!" Keira squeeked, "Who would sink to such low forms of inhumane torture?"

"I would."

"Cruel and unusual, I tell you!"

"Of course, only you two would be joking during a battle," a new vehicle pulled up to them, shooting away at the Marauders.

"Damas!" Keira grinned, "How nice of you to join us!"

"Nice weather we're havin'!" Sig chuckled, causing the King to shake his head.

"I'll never understand the two of you..."

The three elves quickly took care of the remaining Marauders surrounding them, Damas and Keira would've exchanged their usual round of playful banter but couldn't on the account of Keira passing out from blood loss so Sig and the King decided it was best if they just took her back to Spargus City. During the drive home, the King kept a close eye on the young she-elf that had nestled herself into a place in his heart. She had become like a daughter to him and had helped him deal with his grief of his own missing child. Seeing Keira gave him hope that he would one day find his son.

**------**

Damas made his way swiflty to his throne room and found the young elf and his furry...pet...thing...the King shook his head, he'd figure out what the rodent was later. His men had deposited them by the small man-made Oasis his wife had built so many years ago, at the thought of his long deceased wife, Damas felt a hollow pain in his heart. Shaking his head to clear away the sad memories, he splashed water upon the two unconscious forms.

"Ahhh, I love water. Oh yes, it's so good. Desert bad." To Damas' surprise, the annoying, nasaly voice had come from the orange rodent as it stirred and began to lap up the water. The young elf groaned as he came to, sitting up slowly and studying his surroundings.

"Well, you've come back from the dead have you?" Damas spoke up and caught the attention of the boy, "And my monks were ready to pray for you. I am Damas, King of Spargus." The young elf looked the King in the eye and the older of the two nearly fell over in shock. For a split second, Damas had thought he had found his son, the elf before him had the same striking blue eyes...just like his wife, but he quickly regained his posure.

"Spargus? Wait, nobody lives outside Haven's walls... not a whole city," the boy gasped in surprise. Damas had to stop himself from rolling his eyes in an un-Kingly-like manner.

"Ahh yes... we _are_ the forgotten ones," the King spat bitterly, "Haven City's refuse, thrown out and left to die...just as you were. But now that you have been saved, your life belongs to the people of Spargus and we will use it well...if it's actually worth anything." The rodent made a sound of protest .

"Hey! That sounds like a bad deal!" It cried.

"You are in no position to 'deal,' out here everything is either useful or dead weight," Damas explained the Wastelander way of life, "prove yourselves worthy, or the desert will be your grave."

"You need to work on making a better first impression," the elf smirked, the King had to hold back his own grin but couldn't help letting out a chuckle.

"In the unforgiving Wasteland we value strength and survival above all, we will see where you stand soon enough..." Damas said mysteriously, "complete your training, then enter the arena...just the bravest crawl out and are allowed to stay in Spargus. It's quite simple really."

"Um, what happens to the ones that don't crawl out?" The rodent asked nervously.

"Then it will be as if we never found you."

"I was afraid of that..." the furry thing gulped.

"You have yet to tell me your name, young one," Damas looked at the elf standing before him.

"Jak," the elf replied, "my name is Jak." The King raised an eyebrow, could he be the young elf that Keira had always been talking about. He certainly fit the description, the green-and-yellow hair, the blue eyes, the blue tunic, and the red bandana and goggles. She had described him so thoroughly that Damas had to wonder if she was...the King stopped in mid thought as he stared in amusement at Jak.

"What?" The young elf shifted under the King's gaze.

"Nothing." Damas chuckled as he walked away. _'So, this is the elf Keira is in love with...'_

**-**

"Hail all citizens of Spargus!" Jak could recognize that annoying, accented voice anywhere, "Welcome to the arena of death where we get to watch other people wet themselves in fear! These halls will once again test two newcomers, each fighting to prove their worth to stay among us. Let's hear it for Jak and his obnoxious talking animal!"

"Pecker! There you are, where were you?" Jak looked at the monkey-bird, who was perched comfortably on Damas' chair's armrest, in surprise as he made his way towards the platform that would take him down to the arena.

"Damas says I am to be his new counsellor, he says my wisdom will serve him well," the blue monkey-bird explained, "oh yeah and um...Damas also says that ahh...you two are likely to die in the arena today, and he hopes your death is very ahh..."

"Will you stop that! Damas can talk for himself!" Daxter motioned to the slightly annoyed King.

"He is right...you will most likely die," Damas said with a straight face, "and yes, Pecker is my new advisor."

"Unlike you, some people appreciate my talents..." Pecker bragged, "it beats working for a living...I saw a few of the fights earlier.Oooo...not a pretty sight."

"Why you little..." Daxter began but was cut off by the monkey-bird.

"Let the games begin!"

Before Jak descended into the arena, King Damas had graciously given him a Morph Gun with a Blaster Mod to use to fight. The dark elf grinned as he spun the familiar gun in his hands, trigger-finger itching to be used. Jak had taken on the Metal Head leader, Kor, for Mar's sake! To say that he was confident in winning was an understatement. He smirked as the enemy began to appear through the doors at the sides of the arena, Jak was easily outnumbered but that only caused his smirk to widen.

_'Too bad for them,'_ he thought as he raised his gun and shot down the first enemy that came too close. Jak made his way around the raised boxes that seemed to litter the arena floor, taking down anything that he came across or had the unfortunate idea of trying to sneak up on him, keyword there: _trying_. Just as he shot down his seventh kill, the alarms of the arena went of, startling the dark elf. Jak raised an eyebrow and looked around, none of the others seemed to know what was going on either. He jumped onto one of the raised boxes to get a better look around the arena and not a second later was glad that he did, he watched as the arena sank further into the pit of lava which drowned everything in its liquid flames except for the raised boxes.

"Whoa!" Daxter clung to Jak's shoulder, "That was cutting it a little too close there, buddy! I don't plan on being boiled to a crisp any time soon!" The dark elf just ignored his furry friend and waited until the lava was drained, which wasn't too long of a wait. Even more enemy-elves began pouring into the arena and Jak was having the time of his life shooting them down, but it was then when his cockyness got the best of him. When there were only five enemies left, one of them managed to get a shot in, his bullet piercing through the dark elf's shoulder. Jak cursed his overconfidence and was about to turn around and shoot when, to his horror, he felt the familiar shockwave of pain that always preceeded his transformation of Dark Jak. He hadn't let his dark side vent in nearly one month so all the energy Dark had stored began to force its way out.

Jak collapsed onto his knees as he doubled over in pain, trying in vain to fight off the transfromation.

**'I want out!'** Dark growled and Jak could do nothing but give in to his counterpart's wishes. With a large shockwave of Dark Eco, Jak let the transformation take over and almost immediately the pain stopped. The elf felt a sense of satisfaction as he felt his claws run through the elf that had shot him then quickly moved onto the next target, disarming him...quite literally. In the time span of fifteen seconds, the last three targets had been decapitated or run through, leaving Dark panting in the middle of the arena observing the carnage left in his wake with a feral smirk upon his purple lips. With a shake of his head, Dark made his way to the platform that would take him up to the King. As he neared the top, a wave of dizziness overtook him and Dark transformed back into Jak. The dark elf swayed back and forth, watching everything spin in his line of sight. A figure somewhere off to the side caught his attention, it was an elf with a painted white face, glaring menacingly at him. Jak tried to focus on the figure but the King had stood and was glaring at him suspiciously.

"Something you're not telling us, animal man?" Jak stood under Damas' scrutinizing glare.

"He has been touched with dark eco, my liege," Pecker offered his explination.

"Our boy here gets all mean and nasty when you piss him off," Daxter offered his own explination, "so don't piss him off...word to the wise!"

"Ah... then he is dangerous, that could be useful," Damas nodded, he had forgotten that Jak was able to transform into that Dark Eco creature he saw. He now remembered Keira mentioning something about it and if she knew about this and still trusted the dark elf, then he would at least try to. "Your bravery has earned you your first Battle Amulet, if you are victorious in two more arena fights, you will earn your citizenship to Spargus.Here is a gate pass to allow free passage in and out of the city. But, beware there is no true refuge outside our walls the desert is less kind than I..and for your victory, a gun mod is your prize." Jak grinned as he recieved the gun mod for his morph gun, it was a new toy for him to shoot and kill things with. He suddenly remembered the elf with the painted face and turned to look at him again but found the platform that he occupied was now deserted.

**------**

_"Mama!" Keira heard the voice of a little girl cry in the darkness of a huge room, everything was cloaked in black and the she-elf could barely make out a small child hunched over two elves sprawled on the ground. One was male with vibrant green hair and the other was female with long, beautiful sapphire blue hair, for some reason she couldn't make out their faces as they lay in front of what probably were two, large beautiful thrones._

_**'What's going on?'** Keira wondered as she tried to look around but found that she could only watch the three figures on the floor._

_**"Hey...kid? Where am I?"** She asked but was only ignored, Keira grumbled about stupid kids and stepped closer to the child, curious as to why she was ignoring her. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the sight before her made her freeze. Keira wanted to scream, to cry, to do something but all she could do was stand there and watch the scene unfold before her in horror. She felt hot tears burn a trail down her cheeks as she watched the little elf girl with high pig tails shake the body of one of the elves on the floor, taking note of the pool of blood slowly growing around the bodies._

_"Mama! Daddy! Why are you sleeping?" The girl cried as she tried in vain to wake the elves, her childish ignorance brought even more tears to Keira's eyes. "We have to go...the bad people are here!" Keira collapsed onto her knees beside the girl and she reached out, trying to comfort her but found her hands passing through the girl's body._

_"Mama! Please! Daddy! Why won't you wake up!" Keira's hand flew up to cover her mouth, trying to stifle a sob as her heart filled with a sense of dread. She jumped when something began to pound loudly on a large door behind her, she could hear shouts of angry men on the other side._

_"The bad people are here!" The girl cried._

_"Open up you little brat!" One of the men roared._

_"Mama! Daddy! Wake up! I don't like this! Please! Why won't you wake up!"_

_**"Oh Mar!"** Keira's heart broke to see the little girl in such distress, the girl's cries suddenly stopped when she straightened up and began to look around, as if searching for something._

_"Mama?" Keira's whipped around as the doors were suddenly burst open, she could make out the silhouettes of large, bulky elves with wicked-looking armor standing at the doorway. She gasped in horror as the lead elf raised some sort of crossbow-like weapon and aimed at the little girl._

_"Mama?" The girl was oblivious to what was happening around her, "Mama? MAMA!" Everything seemed to slow down as the elf let loose an arrow from his weapon. Keira had to do something._

_"NOOO!" She stood in front of the elf girl and waited until the arrow pierced her chest. A second before the arrow was about to reach her, Keira gasped as she was surrounded by a glorious light. For a moment, she felt safe, warm...felt like she was in her mother's arms..._

**-**

Keira gasped as her eyes shot open.

The she-elf quickly sat up looked around the room she was in, she was sitting in a large bed wrapped in midnight blue sheets. There was a large window to her left, giving her a beautiful view of her favorite desert city, to her right was a door leading to her private bathroom, and straight ahead of her was the door leading out of her palace room. Keira jumped off the side of her bed and winced when she agitated the wound on her side, ignoring the pain, she changed out of the comfortable night shirt she was currently wearing and into her familiar waitressing uniform. No matter how she tried to deny it, she had grown quite fond of the outfit and couldn't bring hersefl to throw it out.

After lacing up her knee-high combat boots, Keira set off and out her door to find Damas or Sig to fill her on what was happening while she was out. As she navigated her way throught halls that one would normally get lost in, she thought back on the dream that was still vivid in her mind. If it had been a normal dream, it would've just faded from her memory a few minutes after her awakening, but something in her gut told her that this was no normal dream. _'Who was that little girl?'_ Keira wondered, _'I'm guessing the two people on the floor were her parents...that was horrible. And those other guys...why was he going to shoot the girl?'_ Her thoughts were interrupted when she walked straight into Damas as she rounded a corner, she almost lost her balance and fell over but the King caught her arm to steady her.

"Keira," he greeted, "I was just about to come and see how you were doing."

"Hey, D," she grinned, "top o' the mornin' to ya."

"Yes, if by morning you mean six o'clock in the afternoon," Damas chuckled as he released her arm and motioned her to walk with him, "so, how was the ride over?"

"Oh it was just peachy," Keira drawled on sarcastically, "I _always_ love spending an hour in a flying tin can over a scorching desert, and getting attacked and shot by Marauders was just the highlight of my day. By the way...what happened after I passed out?"

"Well, I arrived just in time to save your sorry ass," he chuckled as the she-elf smacked his arm, then he mock-sighed, "must I always play the role of your Knight in Shining Armor?"

"Knight in Shining Armor my ass..." Keira grumbled. A mischevious smirk made its way across the King's lips.

"Unless you already have that role reserved for a certain someone..." he chuckled when the she-elf stopped in mid-stride.

"What the hell are you talking about, Old Man?" She raised an eyebrow in an annoyed and confused manner.

"...Maybe someone with yellow-and-green hair who can conveniantly turn into a Dark Eco killing machine, someone who happens to be running around Spargus City at this moment..."

"Jak?" Keira blinked in surprise as her heart fluttered at the mention of his name, "Jak's here? Where?"

"I'll take that answer as a yes," Damas grinned.

"What?" Keira looked at him in confusion then suddenly began to blush, "I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"I thought as much," he chuckled, "I don't know where he is right now, but he's here." Damas could see Keira visibly relax, as if a great burden was taken off her shoulders. The girl let a small smile slip across her features, for a moment regaining an innocence she had lost long ago.

_'I'm glad he's safe...'_ Keira sighed in relief.

**------**

Jak grinned as he rode through the streets of Spargus City with Daxter clinging tightly to his shoulder, riding Leaper Lizards was just like riding his Flut Flut back in home in Sandover Village. The dark elf snorted.

_'Home,'_ he thought bitterly, _'that home is long gone now...destroyed, nothing but a dump.'_

"Hey! Watch it you jackass!" Jak couldn't help but laugh as he nearly ran over a Wastelander while he was distracted. He immediately stopped laughing when the Wastelander opened fire on him.

"Sorry!" He called over his shoulder. _'Man, these guys need to lighten up.'_ As Jak rode around the streets, he couldn't help be reminded of the Bazaar back in Haven City..._ 'Haven City...I don't even _want_ to go there...'_

"Hey Jak," Daxter spoke as he pointed to a large object near the Seashore, "look at that." Jak looked over to where his Ottsel friend was pointing and found a large, dark purple...thing. There was a sinister vibe coming from it that made the hairs on the back of the dark elf's neck rise, but his curiosity got the best of him and he went towards it to investigate. Around the dark object were a whole bunch of elves dressed oddly, they seemed to be praying to it. One of the elves caught Jak's eye, he had a feeling that he'd seen him before but couldn't place his finger on where.

"Check out these funny dudes, huh... hee hee hee..." Daxter sniggered as Jak leapt off the Leaper and made his way closer, "Nice threads, I didn't know rubber was back in. What are ya working on, monk boy?"

"It is none of your concern, animal," the elf ignored the rodents remarks as he tried to continue praying.

"Look, colouring book, we've had a hard week," the Ottsel growled, "don't push it!"

"The arena shows all, dark one," the elf finally turned to look at Jak. At once, the dark elf remembered seeing the painted elf from the arena. "Hate consumes your eyes."

"Great," Jak rolled his eyes in annoyance, "thanks for the tip."

"It will destroy you..." he hissed, then motioned to the dark object in front of them, "just as these Precursors destroyed themselves."

"It doesn't look like any Precursor crap we've seen," Daxter mused, taking in it's sea-anemone-like appearance.

"These artifacts are an abomination," the monk spat. Jak couldn't help knowing that the elf felt the same way about himself, but he could care less about what the stupid monk thought of him. "One fell on the great volcano, we sent an expedition to the mountain, but my monks never returned. Ill tidings sing in the wind...I fear the remaking of the world is at hand." The dark elf and the rodent looked at eachother, sharing the same thought.

"I think you've been out in the sun...a little too long," Daxter raised a furry eyebrow as he turned back to the monk, "let's go, Jak."

Jak was happy to oblige.

"You must leave this place!" The elf monk exclaimed bitterly as he pointed a accusing finger at Jak's retreating back. "Heroes think they can save the world, when they themselves are lost." At this comment, the dark elf seethed. _'What the fuck does this monk think he knows!'_ He thought angrily, feeling Dark's fury course through him.

"You could not possibly understand the dark forces at work here."

_'That's it...'_ Jak snapped and turned around, angrily storming back up to the elf who took a step back in fear.

"Don't talk to me about dark powers!" He growled, the dark elf motioned a hand towards the dark Precursor artifact, "I want to know what this is." The artifact suddenly sprang to life as a control panel of sorts was brought online. Jak moved towards it.

"Stand back," he growled at the monk.

In all honesty, Jak didn't know what the **_hell_** he was doing. It was like his fingers had a mind of their own as shapes began to appear on the screen, they were pressing -to him at least- random buttons. But whatever they were doing, it seemed to be working. After several minutes of button pushing, the artifact made a noise and shot out a dark crystal.

"You cracked it, Jak!" Daxter cried.

"Don't touch it!" The monk warned, "Dark eco." Jak only ignored the monk's protests as he picked the Dark Eco Crystal, knowing that nothing would happen to him. He looked back to the monk and smirked at his astonished expression.

"Yeah, you're impressed now aren't ya?" Daxter grinned, "Come on, give him his props."

"Those are solid eco crystals, it has been passed down through time that they power the greatest of Precursor technologies," the monk ignored the Ottsel's remarks and watched the screen as stranges runes began to appear, "Strange... It speaks an ancient dialect. The earliest Precursor forms. Something about re-claiming this unfinished world..."

"Those look like coordinates. Like the ones from..." Jak started but was interrupted by the monk.

"It is picking up a very powerful signal," the elf monk said as the artifact began to react to rise up into the air.

"I don't think we're gonna like what this thing is yapping to!" Daxter cried just before it exploded in midair, showering the ground with itty bitty pieces of Dark Precursor artifact parts. The monk glared at Jak after recovering from the explosion..

"Even you cannot save us from this, hero!"

"Hey, I'm the real hero here," Daxter once again began spewing lies from his fuzzy little rodent mouth, "you can call me...Orange Lightning! Zazaziing!"

"You may carry the colour of our creators, animal, but we have plans to save ourselves," the monk spat at the duo, "Stay out of our business, you and Orange Lightning are not welcome here!" The monks glared at Jak as they left the scene, the dark elf only shook his head in annoyance at their retreating forms.

**------**

Damas made his way down to Kleiver's Garage, he had heard that the big Wastelander had sent Jak off to race a while ago. He was -for some odd reason- pleased to hear that the boy had finished in first place. He was especially pleased to find out that it was the boy's first time out in the desert, on Kleiver's Tough Puppy of all vehicles! Damas snorted in amusement at that last thought.

The King was suddenly aware of his new advisor's squaking. The monkey-bird was flying around his head, talking aobut one thing or another, he didn't know...Damas was trying to ignore Pecker. He had to fight the urge to grab the flying ball of feathers and tie his mouth shut. Just when he thought he couldn't take anymore, Pecker began talking about Jak. Damas was always curious about the boy, to catch Keira's interest...he _had_ to be a pretty interesting guy. The bird was talking about how Jak had won the Championship in the races in Haven City before he was kicked out. It seemed that Jak had a thing for vehicles...

The large makeshift doors opened to reveal Kleiver who was just about to step through the doorway.

"Oh, g'day your majesty," he greeted in his Aussie accent. "What brings you here to me shop on this glorious day?"

"Where's Jak?" Damas nodded his greeting as he got straight to the point.

"That bloke?" Kleiver looked towards the huge doors leading out to the Wasteland, "He should be back here any minute, you can stay and wait for him if you'd like. I got to get going, promised Keira I'd let her play with some of me old run down vehicles I've got lying around." The King just nodded his head again, a sign that the big elf could go. Just before Kleiver was out of hearing range, Damas called to him.

"Kleiver!" The large blonde elf turned to his King, "When you see Keira, be sure to tell her where Jak is!" He could see Kleiver nod his head with a confused expression before turning and going off to find the she-elf. Damas turned back to the huge doors leading to the desert just as they opened to let Jak, riding Kleiver's Tough Puppy, in to the garage. The boy and his pet...thing -which he had yet to discover what exactly it was- jumped out of the driver's seat with big grins on their faces.

"Nice wheel work," Damas nodded and Jak practically beamed at the comment, "My advisor here says you have vehicle skills."

"I can hold my own," the dark elf grinned.

"This one will be of use to us, Damas," Pecker turned to the King, "I think you should keep him for now."

"Can it, Pecker!" Daxter snarled.

"There are a number of artifacts to be found in the Wasteland, fresh storms churn the sand and reveal items that have been buried for centuries," Damas turned to Jak, "Take the Tough Puppy and find as many items as you can before the storms come again." Jak nodded and jumped back into his newly acquired vehicle.

"And one more thing," the King called out to Jak, "if you get caught in the storms, they will tear the flesh from your very bones."

"Oh great," Daxter grumbled, "thanks for the pep talk." The animal sighed as Jak took off out the large doors and into the awaiting desert. As Damas watched the dark elf drive off, he felt...well, he felt _something_. He couldn't explain it, Damas felt some sort of connection to the boy...the only time he felt that same feeling was when he was with his son...The King quickly shook off the feeling and tried to ignore it.

"Is there something the matter, your Majesty?" Pecker took note of his odd behavior.

"No," Damas looked away from the bird, "it's nothing."

**-**

There was less than one minute before the storm would hit with its full force and Jak was not back yet, Damas began to pace in worry. But it wasn't like he was worried about the renegade elf, oh no.

_'I'm worried about the artifacts...'_ he thought to himself, _'yes, the artifacts, Spargus needs them...'_ Damas could smell the storm coming closer, it would be at least thirty seconds before it hit...his predictions were usually correct, it was something he was able to do from living out in the desert for so long. Jak was_ still_ not back.

Ten seconds...

Five seconds...

Four...

Three...

Two...

"WOO HOO!" Jak's Tough Puppy sailed through the air a second after the desert doors opened, they shut immediately after he passed through. He skidded to a stop in front of the King and jumped out with a whole sack of artifacts, his red bandana was still covering his face and his goggles were still on. Jak dropped the sack in front of Damas and pulled off his bandana and goggles.

"Good work," the King nodded, "that was close."

"Oh, are you beginning to care?" Pecker teased, "Damas says..." The King's hand quickly shot out to grab the bird's beak, he ignored the muffled squwaks of protest.

"My concern was for the artifacts, and we will use them well," Damas countered and changed the subject quickly, "That armour you found, it is very rare, indeed. Pecker here says it's the very armour Mar once wore in his battles for this planet, long ago. Keep it for yourself. Trust me, you'll need it."

"Cool," Jak examined the bronze arm bracers before putting them on, "thanks."

**------**

Keira wiped the sweat off her brow. She'd been working for six hours straight on repairs on Kleiver's Slam Dozer, Desert Screamer, Heat Seeker, and Dust Demon, all of which had exstensive sand damage to the engines. Of course, being in a desert that didn't surprise her much...but it didn't make the job any easier or any less of a pain in the ass. She looked down at her hands, which were now covered in oil and dirt...along with her coveralls and Keira didn't have to look in a mirror to know that her face was smudged with it, too. She always managed to get dirt all over herself when she went into Mechanic Mode.

"And she emerges from beneath the vehicle," Kleiver joked as the she-elf stood and stretched.

"Hardy har, Kleiver, you're a real funny one," Keira rolled her eyes at the big elf as she unzipped the top part of her dark blue coveralls, revealing her grease and oil-stained wife beater. She tied the sleeves of the coveralls around her waist and strapped her shoulder armor piece back on. "Hey Kleiv...I'm gonna go take a break out by the Oasis."

"Alright, mate," Kleiver looked up from the welding work he was doing, "oh yeah, Damas wanted me to tell you something..."

"What?" Keira jumped onto one of the blonde elf's Leaper Lizards after grabbing her new JET-Board off her work table.

"Uh..." the big elf scratched his head, "I forgot."

"You dumbass..." the she-elf smirked.

"Hey! He told me over six hours ago, you can't blame me for forgetting!"

"Whatever, Kleiv," Keira laughed as she rode off on the Lizard, listening as Kleiver's curses died down as she got farther away.

When Keira got to the garage, she dismounted the Leaper and headed towards the huge doors leading to the desert. The she-elf noticed that the Dune Hopper was gone and idly wondered who was out in the desert with it, she didn't think any of the Wastelanders needed to be at the Temple. She just shrugged and turned to hop into the Sand Shark when she stopped suddenly, cursing. Keira had left the keys to the vehicle with Kleiver and she didn't feel like riding back into the city to get them. The she-elf was about to leave when a bunch of Wastelanders entered the garage, preparing to go out and collect artifacts. Keira smiled when she recognized one of the Wastelanders.

"Taz!" She called to the old Wastelander and the elf waved back. "Hey, you heading out?"

"No," he replied sarcastically, "we're getting ready to pick flowers."

"Oh shut up, you," Keira grinned. "You mind if I bum a ride off you guys?"

"You going out to the Oasis again?" He asked knowingly.

"No," she returned the sarcasm, "I'm going to the circus."

"Huh, didn't know we had one of those out there," Taz chuckled when Keira hit his arm lightly, "I'm sure the guys won't mind if you tag along."

"Thanks, Taz," the she-elf hopped into the large transport zoomer, "you're the best."

"Yes, yes, I know," the elf grinned, "please, feel free to remind me anytime you want."

"You're such a dumbass."

**-**

Keira had been training near the Oasis while Taz and the others went searching for artifacts, she remembered all the moves Ashelin had taught her back at Haven City. The green-and-blue haired she-elf sighed, she missed Ashelin, Tess, and everyone else back in Haven City and made a note to go back to visit as soon as she found Jak. Where the hell was that boy anyways? Damas hadn't told her where he was or where he had sent him off to. The nerve of that man, Keira grinned.

Taking out her new JET-Board, now equipped with Turbo Boost (she also made another note to upgrade Jak's JET-Board), Keira zoomed across the desert around the Oasis, marveling at how much faster it was. She executed some jumps, flips, and tricks, using the trees and rocks as obsticles of sorts; the she-elf was in the middle of performing an aerial trick when she was shot at by a lone Marauder. Keira reached for the gun but only grabbed air, she cursed herself for the second time. How could she forget her Morph Gun? The she-elf could only dodge his fire by zooming from side to side and in between rocks and trees, as she was darting between trees, the Marauder was shot and killed. Keira looked up on the sand dune and saw Taz grinning at her. Putting away her JET-Board, she made her way towards him.

"Thanks, Taz," she grinned back at him.

"I never thought the day would come when Keira Hagai would forget her gun," he shook his head in mock-disappointment.

"Oh shush, it'll only be a one time thing," a glowing crystal in Taz's hand caught Keira's eye, "Hey, what's that?"

"This?" Taz held up the dark purple crystal, "I think it's a Dark Eco Crystal those monks are going on about..."

"What's so special about it?"

"Beats me..." As the two elves studied the crystal, something shot out of the sand, startling the duo. It was a dark purple, robot-looking thing with wicked-looking armor, Keira recognized it was one of the silhouettes in her dream. Two two scrambled to their feet and began backing away, Taz had pulled out his gun and began shooting it.

"Keira! Get out of here!" He ordered.

"No! I'm not leaving you with this...thing!" Keira shook her head as she tried to find some weakness on the Dark robot.

"Get out of here now!" The she-elf made a sound of protest, "Don't argue with-"

Time seemed to stop as Keira watched Taz freeze and look down at his chest where there was now a large, gaping hole. The Dark robot had shot him and he fell fowrad onto his face. He looked up at the horrified she-elf, blood now streaming out of his mouth.

"Go..." Keira couldn't move, she felt her hot tears burning trails down her cheeks as she stared down at her now dead friend. She felt her legs collapse under her and she leaned over Taz's lifeless body.

"Taz..." Keira took no notice of the Dark robot that was slowly advancing upon her as she tried, in vain, to shake the elf on the ground awake, "Taz...no...Don't leave..." She was in a daze, even when the robot had wrapped a sort of tentacle around her neck and lifted her up off the ground so she could face the holographic head at its center.

"Thank you ever so much for the Dark Eco Crystal," the hologram said in a strangely familiar voice. "It's you..."

"Taz...no..." Keira paid no attention to the hologram as she was currently being consumed by her grief. The she-elf couldn't feel anything, her body was numb and she hardly noticed that her air supply was being cut off. All she could feel was a burning in her chest, a burning force that was slowly pushing its way out, screaming to be released.

"I think I'll keep you alive so I can play with you later," the hologram cackled evily, but his cackling suddenly ceased, "What the..." The she-elf in its grasp was beginning to glow.

"No..." Keira's eyes were glowing a brilliant dark light that only seemed to glow brighter as her cries became louder, "No! Taz! NOOOOOOOOOO!" She let out a soul wrenching cry as the burning force exploded inside of her, creating a shockwave of the same dark light she was emitting. It blew the Dark robot away with its power and it landed several feet away, but the holographic head had fallen off and lay at Keira's feet as she seemed to be suspended in midair, face upturned towards the heaven, mouth open in a silent scream of agony. The dark light finally died away as the she-elf collapsed onto the sand next to the body of Taz, slipping into unconsciousness. The hologram was shouting but she could barely make out any words as her vision began to darken. But Keira did manage to catch one word before the machine shorted out and before she surrendered to the dark...only one word.

_**Darklighter...**_

**------**

**A/N:** Again...soooooooooooooo sorry for the long wait, I think I'll be updating a lot faster than I have been. I think someone should find this...Writer's Block...monster and kill...bring it back to life...AND KILL IT AGAIN! Grrr...a whole year of that...it's sad really...Well, next time: What will happen to Keira? And what the hell happened to Keira? And what's with those dreams? Who are all these people? What the hell's gonna happen? Where's my Big Mac! Sorry, I'm hungry...well, next chapter will be up soon!


	9. Morning Fun

**A/N: **Ha HA! Faster than the last update!

**Chapter Summary:** Just some random fun

**Pairings:** JK, TA, DTess

**Thanks for those who reviewed! They are very much appreciated...it's what keeps me writing...I hope more people review cuz everyone loves those!**

**- - - - - -**

**Darker Still  
**by Ashelin Rayne

**Chapter Six  
**_Morning Fun_

"Damn spiders..." Jak grumbled as he made his way through the temple, shooting down any remaining spiders that happened to jump out at him. He was walking down a corridor that led to a large room, inside was a familiar, large Precursor statue in the middle of a seemingly bottomless pit. Jak craned his neck upwards to take in the whole sight when a voice startled him, his gaze shot to his left where he saw, high up on a platform, something that made him growl dangerously. It was that pompus idiot, Veger, and the little prick-of-a-monk, Seem. The two were discussing a matter very heatedly.

"I want no excuses!" The bushy eyebrowed elf snapped, "You told me this could be done, now make it so!"

"But we have so little time...the Day Star approaches!" The monk exclaimed, "You know what it brings"

"Unfortunate, yes," Veger drawled on and Jak couldn't help snorting. _'Yeah, like that pompus ass gives a damn.'_ "We will deal with that as soon as I have full access to the catacombs. Just continue your work, and I'll deal with those idiots in Haven. I promise you will meet your makers!" The Baron smiled maliciously as he made his exit followed by the white-faced monk.

"Why are the catacombs so important?" Jak asked out loud to no one in particular while walking out to the platform in front of the Precursor statue.

"Hey! It's one of those goober eyed Precursor thingies," Daxter pointed.

**'No shit,'** Dark rolled his eyes at the rodent, **'doesn't he know that we have eyes, too?'**

_'Lay off Dax,'_ the green-and-blonde haired elf sighed, glancing over at the unsuspecting Ottsel.

**'I'm just sayin'...'** Dark shrugged, **'the thing's fuckin' huge, you'd think he'd know that we can see it.'**

_'Just shut up.'_

**'Fine, jeez,'** the Dark Eco demon smirked, **'what the hell crawled up your ass and died?'** Jak just ignored his counterpart as he stepped onto the platform before the large Precursor statue.

"Greetings great warrior! Your return brings us great hope," the statue lit up with life as it greeted the dark elf hero, "This planet's future is at a critical juncture, the Dark Ones have found your world again, and fate hangs in the balance where the past and the future collide." The elf and his Ottsel just looked at it in confusion.

"Do you have any idea what he just said?" Daxter turned to his friend before turning back to the statue, "Speak-a-da-normal-language, okay?"

"You will need all the power you can muster to survive this terrible test, great one," the Oracle said grimly.

"I can handle it," the Ottsel grinned cockily.

"I was talking to the tall one...shorty," Jak and Daxter's eyebrows rose when the ancient statue insulted the rodent before it.

"Hey!" Daxter cried indigently after he processed the fact that the Oracle had just made fun of him.

"Look into the light and recieve a power, hero," the statue ignored the rodent and focused its power on Jak, engulfing the dark elf in a shaft of light seemingly coming from the heavens. The elf was lifted into the air and he spread his arms out, gratefully recieving whatever the light had to offer him. Jak was filled with a warm, welcoming sensation as he felt Light Eco forcing out some of the Dark Eco that had a hold over his soul. Now, he felt equal, almost whole as the new Light balanced out his Dark.

"Okay, now you're scaring me," Daxter looked up at his friend nervously as the elf was lowered to the ground.

"Dax... the Dark Eco..." Jak looked down at his hands, trying to figure out if he was dreaming or not, "it feels far away...I feel better."

**'What the fuck just happened?'** Dark groaned as if he had just woken up from being knocked out.

_'You no longer have complete reign over him,'_ Jak heard another voice, his own but much more...calmer. It was the voice of his Light Eco side.

**'Oh fuck, this is great,'** the Dark Eco demon grumbled, **'this is just fuckin' great...now I'm stuck with this prick?'**

_'Hey, you don't exactly see _**me**_ jumping for joy, do you?'_ Light Jak growled.

**'So, you're a prick,'** Dark snarled back, **'you don't count.'**

_'How are we such an uncivilized beast?'_ The Light Eco angel sighed.

**'We! What the fuck do you mean we?'**

_'Like it or not, we _**are**_ one in the same.'_

**'There is no way in hell am I related to you, much less being the same person!'**

_'Why is that so hard to believe?'_

**'Well, unlike you...I'm not a _pussy!'_**

Jak was getting dizzy as both his counterparts bickered back and forth, shaking his head, he shut them out and sighed in relief for the silence. If the renegade elf didn't know any better, he'd say he was going psychotic from hearing voices in his head. He decided to keep his Eco forms' personas to himself, he didn't need people thinking he was going crazy and hearing voices.

"Jak? You okay in there?" Daxter was perched on his shoulder and was knocking on the elf's head.

"Yeah," Jak grinned, "let's head back to Spargus City."

"Not arguing with you there," the rodent sighed and relaxed on his best friend's shoulder. Jak made his way back to the Teleportal ring he'd seen and didn't hesitate to jump through, the renegade elf landed on the balls of his feet as he was pushed out through the other side of the ring. He found himself at the entrance of the temple, after dusting off his hands, he quickly headed back to his Dune Hopper, revving the engine as soon as he sat down and started his long journey back to Spargus City.

The winds were beginning to pick up, a sign that a storm was coming. Jak smirked, he was adjusting to Wastelander life fairly easily. The renegade pulled his red bandana over his nose and mouth as the sand was making it difficult to breath, he stepped on the gas, trying to hurry back to the city. _'Better safe than sorry,'_ he thought while he pulled up through the large doors of the garage. Hopping out of the drivers seat, Jak found an incredibly nervous Kleiver pacing back and forth between the door and the Tough Puppy. The fact that a tough Wastelander like Kleiver was on the verge of a panic attack unnerved Jak more than he'd like to admit.

"What's got you all frazzled, tough guy?" Daxter raised an eyebrow at the big, blonde elf.

"None of your business, rat face," the Wastelander growled, oblviously very irritated.

"Attention all people of Spargus," the three heard Damas' voice over a loudspeaker, "a large storm is heading our way! Prepare the city!"

"Don't you people have storms all the time?" Jak looked to Kleiver.

"Yeah, but the one that's comin's gonna be a big bugger," the blonde growled.

"You sure you're alright, Kleiver?" The renegade elf was well aware that something was definately not right with the big Wastelander. Kleiver seemed to pause in his pacing and think for a second before he finally sighed.

"A friend of mine went out there not too long ago," he said grimly, "the little sheila hasn't reported back in."

"Maybe Sheila's on her way now," Daxter said, hoping to try to cheer the elf up.

"Her name's not Sheila," Kleiver raised an eyebrow.

"But you just...nevermind," the rodent mumbled under his breath, cursing the Wastelander and his confusing slang.

"She's still out there, along with four others who haven't reported in," the Wastelander's brows furrowed in worry.

"Jak!" The small door behind them opened up and Damas rushed into the garage, his clothes were dishevled from getting from the palace to the garage in a short amount of time and he had a worried, yet serious look on his aged face. "There you are."

"Damas..." Jak was about to say some greeting but the King cut him off.

"No time to talk, there are five Wastelanders out there and the storm will hit any minute," he informed the renegade elf.

"Yeah, Kleiver just told me."

"I need you to go out and find them," Damas asked, barely containing his own panic, "do whatever it takes to bring them back." Jak nodded as he quickly jumped into the Sand Shark, wondering, for a moment, why Damas and Kleiver were on the verge of a panic attack. A second after he thought that, he got his answer.

"Jak!" The King looked the elf in the eye, showing him just how worried he was and Jak's heart nearly stopped when the next three words tumbled out of Damas' mouth...

"Keira's out there."

The Eco channeler pulled on his goggles and bandana and sped out of the garage, the thought of Keira lost in the storm driving him to go faster. He practically flew over the sand dunes, nearly missing a figure standing near an outcrop of rocks, his heart skipped a beat but as he got closer, he was disappointed to find that it wasn't the she-elf. The Wastelander hopped into the Sand Shark after thanking the renegade, Jak sped off and found a large transport zoomer near a waterhole and dropped his cargo. The elf waved but he paid no attention to him, his mind dead set on finding Keira. He drove around the large broken bridges and found another elf -not Keira- standing near a tree, picking up the second Wastelander, Jak drove back to the transport zoomer and dropped off the elf without even giving him a second glance. He set off again, this time jumping the bridges, and found another Wastelander...also not Keira. After dropping him off, Jak growled, he needed to find Keira and fast because the storm was only getting worse.

_'Keira...'_

**'Can't you make this bloody thing go any faster!'** Dark growled, fear for the she-elf he loved making him irritable.

_'We're going as fast as we can!'_ Light Jak said in worry, he was in fact Dark and Jak, so he too shared the same love for the beautiful elf.

**'Well we're not going fast enough!'**

_'Sorry if I can't just magically give this thing super jet boosters!'_

_'Will you two just _**shut the fuck up!** Jak snapped, _'I'm trying to drive!'_

The Sand Shark began to descend down a sand dune when the renegade spotted the two figures and his heart nearly leapt out in joy, but just as fast as his joy came...it disappeared. His heart turned as cold as ice and Jak felt as though he was falling off a mountain, he could see her motionless body next to another...there was blood all over the place and he couldn't tell whose it was. He leapt out of the Sand Shark and rushed to her side, gathering her into his arms he felt tears prick the corners of his eyes. Daxter looked over the elf's shoulder, trying to hide his own watery orbs.

"Keira..." He whispered hoarsly, as if he was afraid that she would blow away with the wind. Jak nearly cried in relief when she moaned and turned her head towards his chest, her hand moved to clutch the fabric there. "Oh, thank the Precursors..."

"Hey, Jak," Daxter scrambled over to the second body, the one that was definately dead by looks of the gaping wound that went straight through his chest, "Looks like another Dark Eco Crystal." The Ottsel picked up the crystal that lay a few inches from the dead elf's fingers.

"The Metal Heads must've gotten to him..." Jak remembered the mysterious hologram they had stumbled upon when they shot down the huge Wasteland Metal Heads. "But why didn't they take the crystal? And what the hell happened here?" The elf finally took notice of the ring of scorch marks around the place where Keira had lain.

"Maybe we shouldn't stick around to find out..." Daxter gulped when another Dark Maker artifact, very much more active than the last ones they'd found, popped up from the sand, "...Too late."

"Shit," Jak quickly picked up the she-elf and moved towards his vehicle, laying Keira inside the Sand Shark before turning to face the hostile artifact. The renegade yelped when it shot out blue laser beams from its top, nearly getting him in the foot. Jak dodged the Dark artifact's laser beams and tenticals as the wind whipped sand around him, stinging his exposed skin. "Fuck, I don't have time for this!" The elf growled and felt the familiar rage of Dark consume him, transforming him into the Dark Eco Demon.

**"Fuckin' thing needs to die!"** Dark roared as he launched himself at the floating artifact, lodging his deadly claws into its main body. The demon began ripping away at anything he could get his hands on and the Dark Maker robot artifact began to fall to the ground. Growling ferally, Dark made sure that the thing was completely destroyed by jumping above it and executing his Dark Bomb attack. The artifact shattered and Dark transformed back into Jak.

"Jak!" Daxter called from the Sand Shark. The elf quickly hopped into the driver's seat and sped off, head as quickly as his vehicle would allow back to Spargus City. As Jak drove, he looked down at the unconscious she-elf in the passenger seat; there was a JET-Board strapped onto her back and he could tell she'd been working on Klevier's vehicles because she was wearing a stained pair of coveralls and she was smudged everywhere with grease. He chuckled, she always managed to smudge grease on her face too. Jak studied her face even closer and found tear streaks, he frowned. _'What the hell happened out there?'_

The garage doors were getting closer and Jak began to speed up, the storm was making it hard for him to see, even with his goggles on. Both he and Daxter let out a breath they didn't know they were holding when they finally passed through the doors that shut behind them. Jak jumped out of his seat and made his way around the vehicle to the passenger side, carefully slipping his arms under the she-elf and lifting her out of the seat. A very worried Damas and Kleiver hurried over to the pair just as Jak laid the Keira onto the ground.

"Is she alright?" Damas asked in worry, the King hadn't been this panicked since his son went missing and it reminded him how much he disliked the feeling.

"I think so..." Jak brushed a strand of hair out of the she-elf's face.

"The girl is fine," Pecker squawked from his perch on the King's shoulder, "she just wore herself out from using too much power..."

"To much power...?" All three elves and Ottsel looked at the monkey-bird suspiciously.

"Is there something you're not telling us, bent beak?" Daxter glared at the King's advisor.

"Uh..." was Pecker's intelligent response.

"Tell us what you know," Jak stood up and pointed a finger at the blue bird.

"Can't, sorry," Pecker held his wings up when the elf started growling, "hey, if you don't like it, take it up with Onin."

"Pecker..." the dark elf growled in warning.

"Oh, what's that?" The bird cupped a feathered wing to his ear, "I think I hear my mother calling." Pecker squawked as he quickly flew away and out of sight from the group.

"I swear...one of these days..." Daxter shook his furry fist towards the direction where the bird flew off, "I'll strangle that bird..."

"What the hell was that parakeet goin' on about?" Kleiver scratched his head in confusion, "Keira wore herself out by...using too much...power?"

"I don't know," Jak was just as confused as everyone else, "we should just ask her when she wakes up." The others nodded in agreement. After much fussing, the three elves and Ottsel had managed to carefully get the young she-elf onto the saddle of a Leaper Lizard with Jak (him being the best candidate since he was smaller than both Damas and Kliever and wouldn't crush the Leaper with his weight and Keira's) and move her to her palace room. Damas had sent for a she-elf serving maid to clean and redress Keira while the King and company waited outside her door, after several minutes, the maid exited the room and deemed it safe for them to visit.

Damas and Kleiver sat on the left side of Keira's bed while Jak and Daxter took the opposite side, they all looked down at their friend in worry, all wondering what could have possibly happened to the she-elf. The Ottsel hopped onto the bed, barely disturbing it since he was so small, and sat next to the girl's shoulder. He curled up into a ball and fell asleep, intending to be there when his friend would awaken. As Daxter slept, the three elves began conversing.

"So, you know Keira?" Jak looked at the two in front of him.

"She came to Spargus City almost two years ago," Damas informed him, "Sig had brought her here."

"I remember the first time I met her meself," Kleiver chuckled at the memory, "the little sheila wouldn't stop tinkerin' with all my vehicles."

"Yes," the King grinned down at Keira, "ever since my son..." The old elf trailed off from his sentence.

"Your son?" Jak sent him a curious glance.

"Yes, my son," Damas smiled sadly, "ever since he had gone missing, the palace and some parts of the city seemed to be void of happiness. Keira was like a breath of fresh air, she brought life back to this old King."

"Yeah...Keira sometimes has that effect on people," Jak let a very rare, genuine smile slip across his features as he gently stroked Keira's cheek with a knuckle. Kleiver slowly stood from his seat by the bed.

"As much as I'd like to stay and wait for the little sheila to wake up," the burly Wastelander started making his way to the door, "the warehouses can't supply themselves. Tell me when she comes to, alright mates?" The King also got up and reluctantly made his way towards the door.

"I'm afraid I must also take my leave," he sighed, "the city can't run itself."

"I'll be sure to come get you when she wakes," Jak nodded to the two as they exited the room. The dark elf looked out the large window and was surprised to see the night sky through the sand storm, he hadn't noticed it was that late. With a huge yawn, Jak moved over to the opposite side, where Daxter wasn't currently occupying, and sat at Keira's side. He laid his head on his arms as he watched the she-elf sleep peacefully for a while before his eyelids began to droop.

"Good night, Keira," Jak mumbled as sleep claimed his tired form.

**------**

**_"Do you think it's wise?"_** A deep, dark and -nothing short of- sinister voice echoed in the dark confines of what could only be described as a lab from hell. All sorts of creatures, dead and alive, were kept in glass tubes, some large, some small...some filled with a sort of liquid that kept the object inside afloat. Every creature kept inside the glass tubes were all hideously deformed or just plain hideous, they were all around the circular room lined on shelves or on the ground if they were too big. In the center of the room was a large, egg-shaped sack hanging just a few inches off the the ground from the ceiling, it resembled a Metal Head cluster of eggs...but there was just one. And the single egg contained an already formed embryo, almost ready for hatching.

**_"What?"_** Another voice, more ragged than the first, cracked in the air like a whip.

**_"Creating another,"_** the first replied, **_"what if this one fails, also? What if it turns just like the first?"_**

**_"It won't,"_ **the second voice hissed.

_**"How do you know?"**_

_**"We were careless with the first...we didn't anticipate...**her**. We know better this time and are prepared."**_

_**"You better be sure."**_

**_"I am."_ **

Inside the egg, a being stirred. A being that radiated pure evil...made from pure Dark Eco...a monster...

A monster waiting to be released...

**------**

_"Keira!"_

_The voice of a little girl echoed through her head._

_"Keira..."_

_The she-elf opened her emerald green eyes and found herself in a small, blindingly white room with a little girl, an inch from her face, staring at her._

_"What the hell?" Keira stumbled back, startled at the child's invasion of her personal space. The little girl just giggled, her blue-and-green hair bouncing in her high pig-tails. The older she-elf recognized the girl. "Hey, you're that kid from my dream..."_

_"I want to go outside and play," the girl pouted._

_"Uh...okay, go right ahead," the mechanic shrugged her shoulders, "no one's stoppin' you, kid." The child only shook her head._

_"I can't," she smiled, "Mama says it's not time yet." Keira just raised an eyebrow as the child began to skip around her._

_"Well, I guess you're just gonna have to wait then."_

_"That's okay, Mama says I can still play in here for a while," the girl finally stopped in front of Keira, she grabbed the older she-elf's hand and pulled her down into a sitting position, "you should play with me, Mama says it's good practice."_

_"Practice?" The she-elf raised a delicate eyebrow, "Practice for what?"_

_"You should try it," the girl giggled, "it's fun!"_

_"Try what?"_

_Keira watched in fascination as the little girl formed a ball of Eco from out of thin air, it was a type of Eco unlike any she'd ever seen in all her life. The only way she could describe it was like if someone had blended Dark Eco with Light...she couldn't tell if it was dark or light...but that's what it was. A Dark Light._

_**'Darklighter...'** Keira gasped when she remembered the word the machine had said._

_"What is that?" The mechanic asked the little girl, completely mesmerized by the Eco ball._

_"Wanna try it?" The girl asked eagerly, "You can do it, you know."_

_"What?"_

_"Just focus...you know it's there..." The little girl's voice seemed to mature into a young she-elf's. "Find it...embrace it..." Keira felt the familiar burning force welling in her chest, she felt it travel down her arm and she held her hand up in front of her face. It seemed to be glowing with the same Darklight. She pointed a finger in the air and the Darklight erupted at the tip, like a flame on a candle. Grinning, Keira opened her hand and marveled as it too was engulfed in the Darklight flame, the sensation she felt was warm and welcoming, it felt almost familiar._

_"There..." the angelic voice rang in her head again, "now that wasn't so hard, now was it Keira?"_

_The she-elf froze._

_"Mama?"_

**-**

Keira shot up from her laying position.

_'Another dream...'_ The mechanic girl looked around her familiar palace room and was surprised to see Daxter curled up on the pillow next to her and Jak snoring soflty at the side of her bed. She blushed when she found his hand entwined with hers, that is...until she noticed their hands were engulfed in the Darklight flame.

"Oh Mar," she gasped. _'The dream...was it real?'_ Jak began to stir and the Darklight fire died away and Keira felt sad at the loss of the warm feeling. The elf at the side of her bed opened two very blue eyes and he rubbed them with his free hand, trying to get the sleepyness out of them. After gaining his senses, he jumped a bit when he saw Keira sitting up and staring at him, his hand releasing hers.

"Keira!" Jak smiled, "You're awake." Keira couldn't help noticing something different about the elf before her...he seemed...lighter.

"Yeah," she smiled back, "what happened?"

"Well," the elf frowned, "I was hoping you could tell me. What happened out there in the desert?"

"The desert...?" Keira was confused for a second until the memories of the previous day hit her like a tidal wave, "Oh Mar, Taz..." She could keep her tears at bay as she mourned the loss of her friend and the she-elf collapsed into Jak's arms. Through her sobs, she retold the story of what happened in the desert up until her outburst of Darklight. She wasn't ready to tell anyone about it yet, not until she figured out what was going on with her.

The two sat there on her bed for what seemed like forever, Jak whispered comforting words into Keira's ear as her tears began to disappear. The dark elf stroked the girl's soft, green-and-blue hair, placing kisses on her head every so often, both reveling in each other's prescence, lost in each other's embrace...that is until Daxter woke up.

"Keira!" The animal cried as he jumped up from the pillow. The two embracing elves leapt apart, startled by the Ottsel's outburst. "You're awake!"

"Hey, Dax," Keira pulled the rodent into a hug and scratched the place behind his ear, "you didn't have to stay and wait for me to wake up."

"Well, your place is way better than the _last_ place we slept at," Daxter grinned and the she-elf rolled her eyes.

"I'm glad I could provide you with the best of living conditions," she smirked. The furry rodent was about to say something else but Jak beat him to it.

"Hey, Dax," the elf grinned sheepishly, "do you mind if you could get Damas and Kleiver? They asked for me to find them if Keira woke up."

"What am I? The Ottsel Messenger Express?" Daxter began to rant, "I'm always having to pull the weight around during all our adventures, I'm always the one doing all the work! Why can't you go run your pretty little ass out there and find them yourself?"

"Uh..." While Keira was busy raising an eyebrow at the Ottsel, Jak shot him a nervous glance. All at once, it hit Daxter and a knowing smirk was suddenly plastered upon his furry mug.

"Oh, I see..." The furry rodent hopped off the huge bed and made his way towards the door, "I'll be back in a minute...unless I happen to get lost in this huge palace, ya' never know...there's all these corridors and they sometimes just all look the same." Just before Daxter slipped through the open door, he gave Jak a very suggestive wink...which he didn't bother to hide from Keira. The elf felt his cheeks flame and knew there was a very noticeable blush staining them, the girl beside him let out a giggle. For a moment, Jak was once again the shy, mute boy from Sandover Village, Keira was the bubbly mechanic girl, and everything was as simple as they used to be back in the day.

"Are you okay now?" He asked, rubbing her hand in comfort.

"Yeah," she bobbed her head up and down.

"So..." Jak looked around the room absent-mindedly, "how'd you meet Damas?"

"It was last year when I met him, Sig brought me here after that whole thing with Erol," Keira frowned at the unpleasant memory, "I don't know, we just kind of clicked when we met...there was something familiar about him. Actually, looking back on it now, Damas reminded me a lot about you...I guess that's why I stuck with him for so long."

"Unfortunately, not everyone is like that around here," the blonde elf snorted.

"You talking about the freaky cult of monks?"

"Yes!" Jak jumped out of his seat at the thought of that annoying prick-of-a-monk, Seem, "I don't know what the hell I did to piss them off! but ever since I've met them, they've done nothing but be hostile towards me!"

"Same here," Keira frowned, "everytime I'm near it's like they go into the'Let's-be-silent-and-watch-Keira's-every-move-while-whispering-behind-her-back-when-we-think-she's-not-paying-attention!' Mode. Seriously, they're always pointing at me...it's freaky and annoying."

"Yeah, at least you don't have them lecturing you about not knowing yourself and the dark powers that are apparently beyond my capacity to grasp," the elf growled darkly. "A bunch of stuck up stiffs, that's what they are."

"They couldn't be worse than that pompous asshole, Veger," the girl let out a growl of her own.

"Oh shit!" Jak suddenly cried.

"What?"

"Veger and Seem!" The second outburst seemed to confuse the she-elf even more. "I saw them together."

The third brought out a horrified look.

"I don't need to know _that!_" Keira shrieked.

"No! That's not what I meant," Jak quickly explained, "I saw them at the temple, they were having some secret meeting."

"Still sounds wrong."

"They were talking about the catacombs," the dark elf sighed, "Veger's planning something."

"Well, that much is obvious," Keira rolled her eyes as she threw off the covers of her bed and slid off the side, "I wonder what's so important about the catacombs..."

"That's what I won-" All train of thought that Jak had died away when he caught sight of the she-elf's sleep wear. Her night gown, which wasn't much of a night gown, was a white silk -almost see-through- and lined with lace, the bottom ended at mid thigh but there were slits on each side going all the way up to her hip. Underneath, he could see the black, lacy ligerie that she wore. Her sleeping attire was so simple...but she made it so...alluring. It only took a moment before Jak noticed he was staring, very openly, too. His gaze snapped back up to the she-elf's face and found her smirking in that sexy, devillish way of hers. _'Shit, did she say something?'_

**'Fuck if I know,'** Dark grinned cheekily, **'I was preoccupied...'**

_'Well, you should have been paying attention,'_ Light scolded.

**'Were you paying attention?'** The demon snapped and was met with silence, **'I didn't think so.'**

"Jak?" Keira's devillish smirk widened, "Did you hear what I said?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Snapping out of the dazed state he was in, Jak focused his gaze on the she-elf's face.

"You didn't, did you," she made her way over to a lage dresser and pulled out several items of clothing, "oh well, I guess you won't mind then."

Jak's blue eyes widened considerably when Keira pulled the silk night gown over her head.

"Wh-what are you doing?" He struggled to force out the question from his mouth.

"What?" The girl looked at him innocently and Jak couldn't tear his eyes away from her exposed skin, "I told you that was going to change out of my night gown but you didn't say anything, so I just went ahead anyway." The dark elf's jaw hit the floor and Keira just shrugged and turned back to the clothes she picked out.

The mechanic picked up the pair of black cargo pants with an assortment of pockets, chains, and straps all over and slipped it on, as she did, she heard a small whimper and she gave the elf on her bed a side glance. She had to stiffle back a giggle when she saw him, his eyes were glazed over and were suspiciously beginning to darken, probably because of Dark. Keira pulled on two belts, both high up on her left, leaving the rest to hang loosely on the opposite side; she would later put on the ring belt over the side high on the left. She slipped on a thin, long-sleeved, sandy white tunic with sleeves than hung off her shoulder. The she-elf heard another groan of frustration and didn't bother hiding snort of amusement.

"You think this is funny?" Keira gasped when she felt Jak's hot breath blowing against her ear, she hadn't even heard him move.

"As a matter of fact," the she-elf continued dressing, completely ignoring the extremely turned on elf behind her, "I do." She smirked as she pulled on her fingerless gloves and gauntlets on, tucking the ends of her sleeves into them.

"Your evil," Jak growled, his voice deep and husky. The elf's breath hitched in his throat when Keira suddenly turned around and ran a hand up his inner thigh, gently massaging the hard lump at his crotch before abruptly stopping.

"I try," she grinned and turned back around to continue dressing. Jak stood behind the she-elf, stunned while she pulled on a corset over the tunic. Keira quickly pulled on her ring belt, spiked choker, and goggles on as she heard the growling behind her begin to get louder. She yelped when she felt his hands grab her around the waist and threw her onto her bed. Jak leapt on top of her, pinning her arms above her head and grinning like the devil.

"That's not very nice," he breathed, finding the spot on her neck where his fangs penetrated and nipping at it, causing waves of pleasure rolling through the she-elf's body.

"Re-really?" Keira was having a hard time breathing, "What are you going to do about it?" Jak looked down at the blue-and-green haired beauty, grinning toothily as his fangs began to grow longer.

**_"This."_** The dark elf sunk his fangs into the same spot and he heard Keira cry out as her orgasm hit her full force. When he pulled away, he found the girl glaring up at him.

"That is so not fair," she pouted angrily, poking her bottom lip out ever-so-slightly. Jak couldn't help but attack it with his own mouth.

"Jak, found the King for yo-"

The two elves on the bed looked over at the door, eyes wide, and found Daxter standing there with Damas, both looking very uncomfortable. The King coughed nervously as he looked at everything in the room except the bed.

"Uh...Jak," he found a very interesting speck of dust on the ceiling, "there's a Battle at the Arena in fifteen minutes, I expect you to be there." Damas quickly exited the room followed by an orange Ottsel. Jak and Keira lay on the bed for a minute before finally bursting out in laughter.

"I guess I should get going," the dark elf sighed.

"Why?" The she-elf beside him puted again.

"I got a Battle to go to."

"Well, it only takes you five minutes to get to the Arena, right?" Keira stated, more than asked.

"Yeah..." Jak raised an eyebrow. What was the little she-devil getting at?

"Well..." the she-elf pushed the dark elf onto his back before straddling his waist, "there's just **_so_** many things you can do in ten minutes..."

"Oh."

Jak grinned as Keira attacked his lips with her own.

_'This is _**way**_ better than fighting Marauders...'_

**------**

**A/N:** And so ends chapter the eighth...not as good as I thought it'd turn out, but I guess it will suffice. I hope you guys liked it...plz...review! Haven't been getting much of those lately...


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